2B or not 2B?
by AuroraFireMadness
Summary: The girls are at university and someone is moving into the five bedroom apartment next door. Who could it be? Makoto falls in love instantly; Rei becomes suspicious; Minako already knows one of the neighbours; Ami has met her match; and Usagi meets someone she didn't expect, someone all five girls know REALLY well. Hilarity and drama ensue as the girls fight for love
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Meet The Neighbours

Makoto flitted around the immaculate kitchen preparing dinner for her friends, one of whom was supposed to be "helping" her out but instead was glued to her laptop finishing another extra credit assignment.

"Ami! You're meant to be helping me!" Makoto whined as she effortlessly picked up a 20 pound turkey on her own. The blue-haired girl turned to look at her best friend and grinned.

"Makoto, the only reason you wanted me to help you in the kitchen was so that Usagi and Minako didn't have to." She gave her friend a knowing smile – Makoto returned the sentiment by sticking her nose out at her.

"Well, last time it took me three hours to clean up the kitchen from a simple pasta meal. Tonight I am going all out and I shudder to think what those girls could have done!" Ami got up from her laptop and walked to the counter, opposite Makoto, and rolled up her sleeves.

"Ok, I'm ready! What do you want me to do?" Makoto glared at her for a few seconds before Ami realised she hadn't washed her hands, and if there was something Makoto wasn't, it was a dirty cook. Ami made a point to rub the liquid-dettol all over her hands, making sure Makoto saw her extra care in washing her hands, before rinsing them off. She returned to her original position.

"All clean." She grinned and held her hands out for Makoto's inspection.

"Ok!" Makoto got down to business after inspecting her friend's hands and made sure that they were spotless, she held the tray with the turkey out to her. "What I want you to do is get a hold of the turkey's legs and spread them so that I can stuff it. Ami grimaced at her assigned task.

"Excuse me?" Makoto sighed – she couldn't hold the bird in place AND stuff it.

"Ami please?" Ami tentatively reached out for the turkey and grabbed both legs with each hand and pulled them apart leaving Makoto the arduous task of cleaning out the inside. As the tall girl reached into the turkey Ami grinned at the look of horror on her face.

"That bastard! I told the butcher to clean the turkey out before selling it me. She scrunched her nose as she pulled her arm back with a fist full of turkey innards.

"This is disgusting!" Ami whined as she turned away to look anywhere else but at Makoto. The other girl sighed as she dumped the foul smelling innards in a separate tray and promptly put her hand back into the turkey.

"Well then, next time don't offer to come and help instead of going with Usagi and Minako to the arcade." Ami turned to look at her with a stern look in her eyes.

"Seriously, I don't get those girls, they are in their first year at one of the most prestigious universities in Tokyo, and they still go to the arcade!" Ami tutted before realising that she was staring at yet another fistful of turkey intestines. She turned away before she threw up.

"Well, they deserve to have a lot of fun, they've both come a long way, especially Usagi. I mean, do you remember how she was when we first found out we were senshi sailors?" Ami nodded and smiled at the memory of a 13 year old Usagi all kultzy and immature. After her break up with Mamoru, Usagi had done a complete 180 and studied really hard for the entrance exams into the most prestigious schools in the country. She had barely passed the exams, but that didn't matter, she was still attending Tokyo University's Department of International Affairs. Her choice in degree was a bit humorous since no one understood exactly why she had chosen it considering the blonde girl didn't even know where most of the countries were in the world. However, her best friends knew that her reasoning for choosing international affairs was so that she could become a better Princess in the future. The mutual break-up between her and Mamoru made them all realise that the only way in the world was to live in the present and not take the future for granted. After all, Chibi Usa coming back from the future was proof that it was forever changing and everyone realised that they needed to make their own way into the world before being tied down to their fate.

Makoto yelled in triumph as she removed the last of whatever was inside the turkey.

"Ok, wait there while I go wash the inside of the turkey with a bit of lemon and some salt and bring it back here. I need you to spread the legs apart again so I can fill it up." Ami giggled as Makoto turned away with the turkey towards the sink. The tall senshi stopped and looked back, a smile on her lips masked by the horrified expression on her face.

"Ami! You dirty girl! Wait until Minako hears about this." Ami laughed this time and begged her friend not to divulge her dirty mind to their friends.

Meanwhile, at the arcade Minako and Usagi were having the time of their lives playing on the dance mat, both their milkshakes forgotten with the ice cream slowly melting into chocolate sludge.

"Minako come on! What is wrong with you?" Usagi was out of breath as she tried to keep up with the fast flowing arrows on the screen in front of her.

"Usagi! I just came from a whole day of lessons!" Usagi turned to grin at her friend.

"Come on Minako, if you want to be an international popstar, you have to be able to keep up with commoners like me. You had to be able to dance and sing." Minako was too busy concentrating on the hard steps to reply to her friend and decided to flip her off. Usagi grinned and turned back to her screen happy to see that she was making most of the arrows.

When the dance was over Minako collapsed to the floor and Usagi walked over to her laughing.

"Aww Minako, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Serious concern for her friend overshadowed her previous bubbly personality – it wasn't like Minako to be so out of breath from just three dances.

"Usagi," Minako took her friend's hand and stood, albeit a bit shakily, on her two feet, "I'm exhausted all the time." Minako headed to their usual table and sat down in her chair relieved that she was finally resting. Usagi sat down opposite her and looked at her concerned about her welfare.

"Minako, I told you to take it easy. You can't be doing a degree, going to auditions and working at the same time, it's impossible. You need some time to relax." Minako looked at the piercing blue eyes that were usually twinkling with excitement, but were now looking at her with obvious distress. The blonde beauty slurped her milkshake, shuddered at the warm sludge it had become and leaned back into her chair making a mental note of all her options before voicing them to her friend.

"Well the way I see it I have three options: one, quit university and focus on work and auditions; two, quit work and focus on my dream and university and the third option is give up on my dream and focus on work and university." Minako scowled at the options before her. Usagi pushed her milkshake aside, after seeing Minako's reaction to her milkshake, she decided it was better to forgo drinking it, and took her friend's warm hand into her own.

"Minako, listen to me, you don't have to eliminate anything from what you're doing. You can't quit your degree, you always said you need a fall back in case you can't catch a break. Ordinarily, I would be the one telling you that you have to follow your dream, no matter the cost, but I know that in five, maybe even ten years, if things aren't exactly where you want them to be, you'll look back on your choice and regret it." Minako nodded at her friend's wisdom. "Also, you can't quit your work because we live in a very expensive apartment and all five of us have really expensive taste so we somehow have to keep up our lifestyle." Minako laughed at her friend – Usagi always knew how to balance serious situations with humorous antics.

"Usagi, thanks, I mean, this advice is really good, but I am exhausted all the time! I can't carry on this way." Usagi's demeanour changed to a more determined one.

"Ok listen, cut back on work hours – you already work 30 hours a week, make it 20. Then limit the auditions you go to for roles that you REALLY want. I've heard you moan about shit roles so many times which always has me thinking, even if you got the role, would you want it? And lastly, you are taking two extra credit courses and have three scheduled for next term. Minako, seriously? Even eliminating any extra credit courses you still get a degree – you're doing really well." Minako smiled at her friend; suddenly her worries had all gone away. Usagi's advice was sound and doable – she couldn't imagine giving up on her dream. Her big break was just around the corner, she knew it. She also couldn't imagine not getting her bachelor's degree in psychology – even though she had only been at university for a month, she had come to love her course and everything else about university life. Her job also paid for her expensive life-style, even though her parents sent her a huge chunk of money each month she preferred to put that money away and make it on her own. She could hear her parent's laughter still ringing in her ears after she told them about her dream of becoming a popstar. Thankfully her friends supported her endeavours whole heartedly and cheered her on at every turn. Usagi was perhaps her most avid supporter since she was a big believer in all the girls living out their dreams and aspiring to become the best that they could before they resumed their duties as Sailor Senshi of the Galaxy. She loved her friend to no end and would gladly die to protect her – they were all fiercely loyal to Usagi and the fact that she looked out for them so much made them love her even more. The blonde endearing girl felt guilty that her friends would one day have to take an oath to protect her at all costs when the time came for them to rebuild their empire on the moon. Immortality was going to be a great bore if she didn't have her friends with her and if she did and they weren't happy, immortality was going to suck.

Minako stared at her friend as the other girl attempted to help out a little kid beat a game on his Nintendo. She had blossomed into a beautiful girl who was kind and generous and always willing to help everyone, even if someone had already been nasty to her. Rei, another friend of theirs, had always seen this as a flaw, but Minako saw it as a part of Usagi a part which made her more lovely and charming, if that was possible. After her break up with Mamoru, Usagi had confessed to Minako that she was scared about the future – with Chibi Usa bringing information of a child sired by Mamoru in the future, Usagi thought the pressure was too much. Minako had observed her friend's relationships with guys since Mamoru and saw that all her friend wanted was something light, and fun – she hadn't been in a serious relationship since Mamoru, and nor did she intend to in the short run. Usagi triumphed in the boy's game and completed the level successfully, so she turned back to her friend.

"Hello!" She shook a hand in front of her friend's face bringing her out of her trance, "Anyone home? You've been like that for five minutes! What are you thinking about?" Usagi dared to take a sip of her milkshake and recoiled in horror. Minako laughed at her expression.

"It's vile isn't it?" She laughed and pushed both milkshakes on the table next to them hoping that the waiters wouldn't reprimand her.

"So… what were you thinking of?" Usagi propped her elbows on the table, and placed her chin into her open palms. She looked at her friend hoping for some juicy details.

"I was actually thinking of my parents and how glad I am of having you guys as a family instead of them right now." Usagi smiled at her friend – she had stopped blushing at her friend's sentiments a long time ago when she realised that Minako needed to say those words often to remind herself that her friends would always be there for her no matter what.

"Well, just think, one of us is at home cooking a beautiful dinner feast just for us!"

"Two, you forgot Ami." Usagi grinned.

"You really think Ami is helping out? She's probably on her laptop working on one of the five extra credit courses she's taking!" Minako looked aghast at that.

"Why would she lie to us?" Usagi shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, I think she knows we have ways of convincing her to come out with us." Minako narrowed her eyes.

"This is all Rei's fault! She held her Grey's Anatomy Textbook hostage when she refused to go clubbing with us that one night!" Usagi chuckled at that night's events. They had finally convinced Ami, convince was a relative word to use in this case, to go out with them and Minako had taken it upon herself to dress their friend up for a night out on the town. Usagi was so proud of both her friends that night because Minako had made Ami realise that she needed much preparation to be beautiful and Ami found her lost confidence and actually interacted with people. Rei and Usagi admired from afar while Makoto was busy flirting with the bartender for their free drinks.

"What do you think our chances are of getting her to come with us tomorrow night?" Usagi laughed.

"Slight to none." Minako's eyes gleamed as she looked at Usagi with a mischievous look on her face.

"I'll make a bet with you that I can convince her to come out with us tomorrow night." Usagi licked her lips and smiled.

"Convince? Or convince?" She gave a knowing look to Minako and emphasized the last word.

"Not to toot my own horn, but I can be pretty convincing when I need, and want, to be." The girl smirked at her friend.

"If I win, you have to reorganise my closet." Usagi tried not to laugh at her friend's horrified look.

"If I win then you have to clean the bathroom next week. I hate doing that." Usagi just shrugged – cleaning toilets didn't really bother her. She worked nights as a bartender at one of the hottest clubs in Tokyo and, on occasion, she had to clean the bathrooms after the patrons graced the floor and walls with their dinner.

"Deal!" They shook hands to seal the deal.

A few blocks away a beautiful girl with raven hair was running around a prestigious art gallery making sure everything was ok for the opening exhibition on medieval antiquary two days from now. She heard her phone ringing and pressed the headset connected to her ear to answer it.

"Hino Rei here." The customary way she answered the phone angered her friends to no end, but it was always a huge help to explain who was answering the phone – it saved time instead of having the other person ask to speak to her and then her having to explain that it was her. This was her philosophy anyway.

"Rei! Stop answering your phone like that! Of course we know it's you!" Makoto's voice sounded shrill on the other line. Rei sighed.

"Makoto, I have work to do. Is this important?" Before Makoto could reply Rei spied one of the workers the gallery had hired handling a very expensive antique carelessly. Without removing the headset she yelled at the poor man who looked like he was about to pee by the end of it.

"HEY WATCH IT IDIOT! THAT PIECE COSTS MORE THAN WHAT ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM COMBINED WOULD MAKE IN A CENTURY!" She couldn't see the girl on the other side of the line cringing and holding her phone far away from her ear as possible. "Makoto, I have to go, text me if it's important. I have to go deal with people's incompetency." Without waiting for her friend's reply she clicked the headset to end the phone call and went to yell at the worker some more. Makoto, meanwhile, had rung to see if Rei preferred a simple "Spinach with Bosc Pears Salad" or a "Squash and Orso Salad". She turned to her blue haired friend who was nowhere in sight – the missing laptop didn't escape her notice. Frustrated, she punched in Usagi's number on her phone. After a few rings she could hear the bubbly girl's voice on the other line.

"Hello Makoto! Minako and I are nearly home so write down any chores we have to do." Makoto cringed and moved faster to clean the kitchen up before her friends could come and ruin it.

"Well, I'm nearly done with preparing tonight's feast for Rei and I rang her to ask whether she wanted a simple "Spinach with Bosc Pears Salad" or a "Squash and Orso Salad". But she had to go yell at some workers before I could ask her this and told me to text her if it was anything important. If it where me, this would be a very important question for me, but would it be for her?" Makoto was genuinely worried but Usagi stayed silent trying to gauge just how serious her friend was. A few moments later, Makoto guessed that she conferred Minako in on Makoto's dilemma, her voice could be heard again.

"Ok, I think you should go with the pear salad, bosc pears are still pears right?" Makoto made a noise that Usagi took as a yes and continued, "instead of the other one because neither Minako nor I know what squash or orso is and chances are, neither would Rei, and you know how confused she gets when you serve her food she doesn't know of." Makoto slapped her forehead.

"Of course! I forgot about that!" She heard Usagi give a small chuckle on the other line. "Ok thanks guys! On your way home can you bring a spiced cider and a special package I ordered from Mr Yoshimodo? I'm chopping up fruits for a chocolate fondue desert." She heard Usagi smack her lips and relay this information to Minako who yelped with joy.

"You're making chocolate from scratch?"

"Mhm!" The tall girl grinned as she lifted the tray with the turkey and put it in the oven. "The special package is cocoa beans all the way from Chuao Venezuala!" Makoto sounded really excited but this was all Greek to Usagi who didn't know anything about cooking. Makoto stuck her tongue out as she gauged the oven temperature to her special recipe – the oven was quite old and she had concentrate really hard and squint at the faded numbers and pictures on the knobs.

"See you soon Makoto! Minako is practically running to Mr Yoshimodo and hopes to get extra cacao beans so that you can make more which we can lick while you clean up." Makoto heard the phone click before she could tell the girls that she had ordered enough cacao beans to make enough chocolate to last them for a long time. She sighed and placed the phone on the counter before moving at the speed of lightening to clean up the kitchen. She honestly did not want to assign any chores to her friends because it always ended up as a disaster.

* * *

Makoto checked on her turkey which was cooking beautifully in the kitchen before turning back to her grilled vegetables.

"I like to cook and have food in my tummy." She hummed as she swayed to imaginary music which only she could hear. This was her mantra when she cooked – a mantra that none of her friends got and, quite frankly, were a little disturbed every time she uttered it.

"Mmm, turkey smells so good!" Usagi popped her head into the kitchen and grinned at her friend.

"Usagi! Have you and Minako set the table?" Usagi nodded. "Ok great! Turkey should be done in 15 minutes, the chocolate is cooking beautifully and I've made a whole stash of chocolate crescent moons," this elicited a giggle from Usagi, "and various other planets!" Usagi grinned at her friend who looked so at home in the kitchen.

"I tried one with Mina, they were amazing!" Indeed they were! The crescent moon shaped chocolates were stuffed with white chocolate; the Venus heart shaped chocolates had a tangy orange taste; the fire shaped chocolates had a hint of red pepper spice which gave the chocolate an exotic taste; the lightning bolt shaped chocolates were made half chocolate half mint; and the circular shaped chocolates bubbled in their mouth.

"Usagi, it's my job. I make food and I get paid for it."

"Yeah, but you work at a seedy burger joint. You don't get to use your talents there at all."

"Yeah but you forget, I go to one of the most elite culinary schools in Tokyo and I learn from the best." She winked at her friend and tapped her temple.

"Stupid seedy burger joint – when can you get a job in one of those really nice restaurants so we can actually go there and be seated with no problem?" Makoto narrowed her eyes at the blonde girl.

"Well you'll be happy to know that I applied for a new job today." Usagi's eyes beamed with happiness. She ran up to her friend bouncing on the spot and talking a mile a minute.

"Ohhh! Are you a sous-chef at Chez Mariano's? Oooo! No! Casa Di Mare? Oh no wait! You got a job at Marcello's? Makoto I'm so proud of you!" Makoto shook her head trying to keep up with her friend's exhuberance.

"Usagi, calm down, those places wouldn't accept me as a cleaner without having a degree." Usagi's eyes fell and she looked to the ground embarrassed. "I applied for the little café, Old Movies, three blocks away from my school. It'll be a much easier commute and it's close to home!" Usagi's eyes brightened once more.

"Oh! They make amazing bun cakes and really good milkshakes! Makoto, you have to get that job! Then we can all hang out there and eat your amazing food!" Makoto laughed and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Usagi, I haven't got the job yet. If they accept my application I have to go interview with them and I'm thinking of taking some of the chocolates I made." Usagi looked crestfallen.

"What? No… those chocolates are so good you can't give them away." She frowned and sniffed at the thought of being parted with the chocolate.

"Relax Usagi, you and Minako brought so much cacao beans that I have enough to make three whole boxes of them." She pointed to the boxes on the counter which were big enough to fit two shoeboxes in.

"Oh wow!" Usagi rushed over the boxes and eagerly opened them hoping to find them full of chocolate, but instead, she found them empty. She turned to look at Makoto with a sad look on her face. "Where's the chocolate?" She asked sadly.

"I cooked a whole stuffed turkey, made pasta arrabiata from scratch, made lentil soup, grilled vegetables, cleaned the kitchen, made chocolate, from scratch, and cleaned the kitchen again. I made enough chocolate for the fondue tonight and to experiment – I'll fill the boxes up later." Usagi ran to her friend and hugged her.

"What would we do without you? You even make disgusting lentil soup because it's Rei's favourite!" Someone shuffling into the kitchen caught both the girls' attention – Rei had just walked in.

"Mmmm, something smells really good in here Makoto!" She closed her eyes and took a long, hard sniff and sighed with happiness. "Lentil soup! Yummy!" The raven haired beauty opened her eyes and looked at Usagi with a smirk on her face. "You should eat some of that soup Usagi, it's really healthy." While Makoto turned to check on the kitchen, Usagi fleeted over to Rei.

"Rei, my dear, the day I eat lentil soup is the day hell freezes over." Makoto turned from the oven to look at her friends.

"Hey, didn't we already stop that from happening?" She grinned at her two friends. Ami and Minako just happened to walk in at that moment.

"What did we stop from happening?" Minako asked and took a sniff. "Makoto, it smells amazing in here!"

"Makoto was saying that we stopped hell from freezing over." Usagi walked over to Minako and winked at her before leaving the room to bring some of the chocolate Makoto had made.

"Well, we didn't technically stop hell from freezing over, but we did save the world from going all evil." Usagi came back into the kitchen with the bowl of chocolates and offered one to Ami. She took one of the bubbly ones and popped it into her mouth.

"Good God this is amazing!" She exclaimed and leaned forward to take another one.

"Hey!" Makoto yelled. "You're going to spoil your dinner!" Ami put the chocolate back into the bowl guiltily – she was the only one who listened to Makoto however as the other three girls took two extra chocolates and grinned at Makoto's retreating back. Ami laughed and went to help Makoto.

"Need any help?" Makoto nodded. I've served the vegetables, the mashed potatoes, the pasta and the soup if you can take it to the table and I'll bring the turkey. Ami nodded and beckoned to the other girls to help her. They all brought over the food and sat down waiting for Makoto to bring the piece de la resistance of the dinner.

"Here's the turkey!" Makoto brought over the turkey served in a porcelain dish; the turkey looked to be cooked precisely right and the juices running into a pool at the bottom of the turkey made the girls' mouths water.

"Rei, you sit at the head of the table, since this dinner is in your honour. If you want, you can also carve it." Rei nodded silently and took the carving tools from near her plate at the head of the table.

"Before dinner, a toast." Usagi stood up holding a glass of deep, red plum juice.

"Hear Hear." The girls said in once voice and all tapped their knives against their glasses. Usagi cleared her voice and spoke:

"Tonight, we honour Hino Rei, a girl who has proved time and time again that she is capable of any task she is assigned. This summer she interned at one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, was treated like shit, had absolutely no free time to herself but it all paid off – literally. They gave her a part-time job to go with her Art History degree at Tokyo University. Tonight we honour her hard work and perseverance. Not only did her boss assign her one of the most important event galleries, but she has managed to pull everything off without a hitch. Two days from now will be her ultimate night of showing off her hard work of procuring rare medieval antiquaries to important buyers from all over Japan and Asia!" She raised her glass in Rei's direction. "I would also like to add that tonight could not have happened without Kino Makoto, whose ability to cook an amazing dinner can surpass any Michelin awarded chef in the world. This is a testament to Rei's friendship, a friendship which we all value or else we wouldn't have been here tonight." She raised her glass once more and took a sip before sitting down. Rei smiled and expressed her gratitude for Usagi's kind words and Makoto's feast.

"Did you see all those boxes outside in the hallway, and those boxes downstairs?"

"Yeah, apartment 2B is about to be let."

"I wonder who's moving in." Usagi mused.

"I hope we have at least one good looking guy!" Rei grumbled. The other girls grinned – between Rei's work and her degree, she didn't have any time left to meet new guys and she was getting frustrated.

"The last tenants were all crazy!" Ami nodded at her friend.

"I know right! I mean, I know I'm considered a nerd, but they were… another specimen all together! They got angry at me when I played some jazz music last month and my window was open so they heard and came over to complain."

"They complained at you Ami? Why didn't you tell me? I would have beaten them to a pulp." Ami smiled at her boisterous friend.

"Violence is not the answer, Sailor Jupiter." Ami always used their Senshi titles when she told them off.

"Whatever, Rei's right, I hope we get really cute guys move next to us." Usagi turned to her blonde friend and grinned.

"Ran out of guys to date on campus?" Minako stuck her tongue out at her.

"No… anyway, who's to say they aren't university students?" Minako pointed out.

"I hope they aren't."

"Well if they are, maybe they can be third years."

"Or post graduate students!"

"I just hope they're sensible." All four girls turned to their friend and grumbled at her. She just gave them a pointed look and continued eating.

"Ami, only you can think that the best kind of neighbour is a quiet one. Have you got no other requirements?"

"I hope they aren't serial killers." Makoto scoffed at the girl's response and cut up her turkey with a little more force than necessary.

"Well, it's going to be five people moving in there, that apartment is the mirror of ours, just on the other side." Rei noted.

"I hope it's not five girls… can you imagine if we don't get along? It's going to be drama central." They all laughed and shrugged off the nervous feeling if it turned out that there were going to be all girls.

"We should go meet them after dinner!" Just as Usagi said that a knock was heard on the door. The four girls looked at her and burst out laughing before they all scraped their chairs backwards and ran to the door.

"I should answer, I'm the tallest." Rei looked at Makoto in horror.

"No, this is my night, I should go!" Rei pushed Makoto away but Minako jumped in front of her.

"No, it should be me, I'm the friendliest." As the three girls whispered their reasons over who should answer the door, Ami and Usagi walked to the door and peeped through the whole. A blonde boy stood at the door tapping his foot impatiently. He moved to knock again but Ami opened the door just in time.

"Hello." She smiled as she opened the door to reveal herself. Usagi peered at the boy from behind her friend and gawked at his good looks. The man was seriously hunky. The girls who were fighting behind the door stopped and joined Usagi in staring at the unexpected visitor.

"Hi, I'm from Apartment 2B and I was just wondering whether you have a broom we could borrow." Ami blinked at the boy – Usagi noted a hint of blush appearing in her cheeks. She smiled, even Ami found this boy good looking.

"Sure, hold on a minute." Before she could fetch the broom Makoto ran into the kitchen and came back with their broom.

"Here you go." The boy grinned at her.

"Thanks! We just moved in and my brother managed to break a vase and two lamps already." The girls laughed – the boy seemed to have an easy going personality.

"Have you moved here with your family?" Ami asked. The boy laughed – his laugh mesmerised all the girls into a trance.

"Oh God no! I moved here with my three brothers and our best friend. I'm in my third year, two of my brothers are doing their masters and my eldest brother is starting his PhD with our best friend."

"Oh interesting! What do you study?" The boy was about to answer before a gruff voice yelled at him from inside his house.

"YO ZOISITE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU WITH THAT BROOM? YOUR IDIOT BROTHER WALKED INTO THE LIVING ROOM BAREFOOT AND DYMI REFUSES TO HEAL HIM IF HE STEPS ON THE SHARDS SINCE IT'S HIS FAULT!" Zoisite grinned at the girls, not at all embarrassed at his brother's outburst.

"I gotta go girls, but we should do this again soon." Rei narrowed her eyes at him.

"What, take another cleaning apparatus of ours? That's our only broom so we'd better get it back." Zoisite smiled at the girl and bowed.

"I will return it as soon as I can my lady." He waved at the girls and ran into their house.

With the door closed they could hear the boy yell back at his roommate.

"OY SHUT IT NEPH, THE CUTE NEIGHBOURS HEARD YOU BEING RUDE!" The girls giggled at being called cute. They fled back into their house and closed the door before hearing the other roommate's response.

"Well that was interesting." Minako looked at her friends and they all burst out laughing again. A few moments later they heard a knock on the door again. Puzzled, Usagi, who was closest to the door opened it to reveal the boy from before and his flatmate – both were grinning.

"Your broom." He smiled at Usagi and presented their broom back as if it were a precious sceptre. Usagi looked back at Rei who relieved the boy of his load. "I am Zoisite, this is my brother Nephrite. As you can tell, my mother was obsessed with jewellery." Makoto clung onto Minako's arm with a little more force than the blonde girl could handle.

"Watch it!" Minako growled and winced as the taller girl used her nails

"Mina, that boy is gorgeous!" Minako turned to get a better look at the new comer.

"He's good looking but not that good looking enough to warrant bodily harm!" Her sarcasm was lot on her friend who was still staring at the new boy.

"Well, we'll talk again soon, Ami." Makoto jerked her head to look at Ami who had introduced herself to the boy. Ami smiled and waved goodbye before she closed the boy. The girls heard a noise on the other side of the door which sounded like a high-five but they couldn't actually be sure.

"Well, one thing's for sure, if their other three flatmates are that good looking, we're all going to have a splendid time." Minako smiled.

"The tall brunette one is mine!" Makoto put her hand up before any of the other girls could react.

"I prefer the blonde one." Minako turned to Ami and grinned, she nudged her shoulder in a teasing manner.

"I just hope they're not loud." Ami sighed and moved toward her room.

"Don't deny it Ami! I SAW YOU CHECKING OUT THE BLONDE ONE!" Minako yelled at her friend's retreating back. A knock was heard again on the door – Ami stopped and turned, her face pale.

"That had better not be…" She whispered. Minako cringed hoping that it wasn't their new blond neighbour.

"How?" She mouthed as Usagi went to open the door. It was indeed their blonde neighbour who had asked for the broom again. Makoto ran into the kitchen again noting her friend's discomfort and came back with the broom.

"Keep it." She said as she shoved the broom into his hands and slammed the door in his face.

"Makoto, that was rude!" Usagi whispered.

"Do you think he heard what Mina said?" Ami's voice was barely audible from shame.

"Ami, I'm so sorry." Mina put an arm around her shoulder.

"It's fine Mina, I don't really care. I just hope he doesn't get the wrong impression." She smiled at her friend who sighed with relief.

"So what if he heard? The worst thing that could happen is nothing." Surprisingly enough Rei's comment made sense. Ami hugged her friend and assured her that she was fine before going into her room to study some more.

Usagi turned to Makoto.

"Makoto, I'll help you clear up." Rei and Makoto cringed at the same time. Last time Usagi had cleared the table, she left the girls with three plates, two spoons, one knife and four forks less. She had thrown the cutlery away in her haste to go read manga and broke the plates by tripping over the carpet.

"Usagi, I'll clear the plates away. You have work in two hours so you should go rest." Usagi nodded and scampered off to her room not guessing the real reason for her dismissal. She got dressed and set her alarm for ten thirty. Tonight the club was catering a party for a spoilt rich 22 year old who thought that her father's money could buy her everything – apparently she didn't know that class was earned and manners were taught. Usagi was the only one who could deal with her since she was the nicest bartender and her manager put her in charge since the girl had managed to anger every single one of his bartenders, including himself. Usagi sighed as she snuggled into her blankets. Tonight was going to be a long night she thought before sleep overtook her.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

I have recently become obsessed with Sailor Moon and I love anime in general. This is my second story on FF so I probably won't be updating as often as I should – my first fanfiction always takes precedence.

A few things to note:

\+ The parings will be just as Takeuchi intended:

Zoisite/Ami – Usagi/Mamoru – Nephrite/Makoto – Kunzite/Minako – Jadeite/Rei

\+ Ages:

The girls are all 18 years old. They started university a year later than most people do for reasons which will be explained later on.

Mamoru &amp; Kunzite – 22

Nephrite &amp; Jadeite – 21

Zoisite – 20


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Someone pointed out that I forgot to mention Jadeite's age; he's 21, like Nephrite. Hope that clears things up.

* * *

Chapter 2 – Usagi, Moon Princess and Alien Waitress

Usagi walked out of her room cursing her manager once more for forcing the staff to wear this ridiculous outfit. She smoothed out any wrinkles in her futuristic blue skirt and made sure her headband was on straight. She walked into the kitchen hoping Makoto had put the coffee on.

As soon as she entered the kitchen she was met with all of her friends laughing at her as if they were all in on the same joke. Usagi just scowled and moved toward the caffeine.

"Usagi…what…the…hell…are…you…wearing?" Rei said between laughs. The blonde girl just narrowed her eyes and took a gulp of her coffee.

"Now girls, don't tease her. The woman hosting the party is a big fan of 30th century fashion so they all have to dress according to her likes." The girls instantly pulled a face at Ami's words.

"That's considered fashion?" Mina's voice sounded confused.

"Who the hell knows what 30th century fashion looks like?" Rei asked twisting her beautiful face into a confused look.

"Usagi's a moon princess, she can't go out dressed like that." Usagi turned to her tall friend who had an annoying habit of mothering her quite often.

"Mako, I'll be fine." Makoto's face turned stern.

"You'll catch a cold!" She leaned back and took a coat that was hanging off from Rei's chair.

"Hey that's my coat!" The raven girl yelped. Makoto turned to give her one of her infamous stares that rendered her silent.

"Wear this and once you're inside you can take it off." Usagi scoffed but still took the coat offered to her. She looked at her watch and squealed,

"Oh NO! I'm gonna be late!" Usagi gulped down the rest of her coffee, thankfully it was luke-warm by now, and rushed out the door leaving her friends to laugh at her constant tardiness.

"Some things never change." Rei mused as she sipped her tea.

Usagi ran out of the door and made a mental note checking that she had gotten everything, including her bag. She didn't have time to button up her coat before running down the hallway and bumping shoulders with someone coming from the opposite direction.

"Hey!" A male gruff voice shouted. Usagi brushed the man off and ran yelling an apology over her shoulder as she ran through the doors and down the stairs leaving the man to stare after her in bewilderment.

"That looks an awful lot like…" The man stopped muttering and shook his head. Being back in his home country after so many years was getting to him; there was no way he was living opposite his old girlfriend's house. _You baka, everywhere you go you think you see Usako._ He muttered curses under his breath while putting the key into his door. The scene before his eyes was…to say the least…a shock.

"Nephrite….Zoicite? Are you… cleaning?" The shaggy haired man shook his head in disbelief. The two boys, who were currently scrubbing the floor, looked up and gave their friend a cheeky grin.

"Dymi, we were just making our house a home." Their friend narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"You two never clean. In fact, Kunzite and I had to constantly bug you to pull your weight around the house in Boston." His last comment was directed at the brunette.

"Hey, we can clean the house if we want."

"What's the deal?" Nephrite sighed and got up, he threw the brush into the bucket and walked toward his friend.

"Dymi, we live next door to angels! Five girls, one for the each of us, that look as if they were sculpted by the Gods themselves." Zoicite scoffed at his brother's comparisons.

"Dymi, don't listen to him. They're way out of our league." Nephrite turned to his brother and scolded him.

"What do you mean out of our league? No girl is out of girl, in fact, we're the guys who are out of girl's leagues." Zoicite got up as well and walked toward his brother, arms crossed against his chest.

"What I mean to say, brother," He growled, "was that they're probably all looking for romance and shit. We are not in a position to give it to them."

"Hey, that blue-haired chica was looking at you like she wouldn't mind a piece of the action."

"Yes, but when it boils down to what these kind of girls really want, it's romance. We've all tried it before and got burned." Both brothers turned to look at their friend who blushed – he was the one burned most by romance in the past.

"When have you ever been burned by love brother? From what I remember, you spent your first and second year sleeping with every girl on your course." Nephrite scorned his younger brother.

"Hey, there was that girl, what's her name…Asami," He clicked his fingers at remembering her name, "I thought she and I would be together for a long time but sadly she preferred my older brother and was only going out with me because she thought she could make him jealous." His friend turned to look at him, confusion clearly written all over his face.

"Weren't you doing exactly the same thing with her for her sister?" Zoicite stopped to think before he formed a small O with his mouth, finally remembering his plan for wooing Asami.

"Ah yes true. But! I actually did like Asami, her sister was just a bonus."

"Yeah, you got the better end of the stick, at least you got to sleep with her sister. Kunzite didn't even turn to look at Asami." His brother stared at him pointedly.

"Anyway!" Zoicite glared at his brother before turning to their friend. "I have claim on the blue-haired girl while Nephrite has claim on the tall one." At his friend's confused look he explained, "You'll be able to tell you they are. They're pretty hard to miss – all five of them are completely different."

"Except the two blonde girls." His brother pointed out.

"Right! But the way in which they carry themselves makes them look different for some reason."

"Idiot." His brother said under his breath.

"Hey watch it. I'm the baby of the family and I'll tell mama on you." Nephrite stuck his tongue out at his brother.

"Shut it little bro and the only reason you're here with us is because you went to mama and cried to get her to threaten us with no monthly stipend if we didn't put up with you." Zoicite turned to look at his brother, eyes wide from shock.

"What? She told you I cried?" His eyes narrowed. "Why that liar!" A door closing brought everyone's attention to a tall muscular man exiting his room.

"Watch what you say about mama." The man threatened before walking into the kitchen. His voice sounded like he had just woken up.

"Kunzite! You're awake!" Nephrite yelled. The three boys followed him into the kitchen.

"Why did you call mama liar?" The burly man opened the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice; after inspecting the contents and sniffing it to see if it was expired, he put the spout to his lips and started drinking.

"Oy! That's for all of us you twit!" His friend yelled from the door. Kunzite stopped drinking from the carton to reply to his friend.

"Relax! There's not enough in here for all of us." As if proving his point he put the carton back to his lips and drank the last dredges of the orange juice.

"Whatever. Now to business. I didn't tell mama to threaten you so that I could come live with you. I was fine living in my studio apartment." Kunzite gave his youngest brother a glare before turning to their other brother.

"What have you been telling him?" The brunette boy looked at him with a blank expression.

"Nothing." He sounded innocent, a little too innocent for Kunzite's liking.

"Nephrite, you shouldn't tell lies." He turned to his blonde brother and sighed. "Zoicite, you hated living alone which is why I told you to join us.

"Hey, I'm not complaining, I get booze living here." His brother glared at him.

"No drinking for you until next year." Zoicite grinned at him.

"My, my, America really has changed you. I'm pretty sure you spent three years there not drinking one drop."

"Our brother seems to have forgotten frat parties and sorority after parties with his head down the toilet."

"You, shut up. This isn't the example you should be setting for our youngest brother." Nephrite grinned at his youngest brother, his pearly whites gleaming.

"You can drink from my stash, I'm legal now too." He turned to his eldest brother, "and you, don't play dumb with us. I can name the days you spent not drinking each year on my fingers! Zoicite has the best grades in his year and is probably graduating with highest honours. He's allowed to let go. Plus, if we don't give it to him, he'll get it elsewhere." Kunzite just sighed and went to the fridge hoping to find something to satiate his hunger.

"As long as he keeps his grades up which gives him the scholarship, I'm good with what he does." He found a tupperwear with questionable contents; a thorough inspection and a few sniffs later, he had already dug into the mysterious contents with a fork.

"Kunzite, what the hell is that?" His friend looked at him with a look of horror on his face.

"I don't know." He chewed thoughtfully for a bit before shovelling more food into his mouth. "It's not half bad though." He resumed his chewing while his brothers and friend looked disgusted.

"Mate, we haven't cooked in this house in two weeks and haven't gone grocery shopping in a month." Kunzite looked at his food and shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever." He shovelled the remaining contents of the tupperwear into his mouth and emptied it. He took the plastic container to the sink and rinsed it a bit before leaving it there to wash up later. "I'm off to the gym, then I'm going to the library to study. You coming?" He turned to his friend who shook his head.

"I have that party to get to." Zoicite grinned.

"Oh! That alien party from your high school friend?" His friend nodded.

"Man, I would love to have gone with you, just to see all those girls dressed up as sexy aliens, but I have to study." Nephrite clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Who said you were invited?" Nephrite looked at his friend with arrogance in his eyes.

"Hello, we all got an invitation, remember? We were with you when you saw her again and she invited us so that the hunk to babe ratio would be adequate." His friend scoffed at him.

"That's not what she said." Zoicite, for some reason, laughed really hard at that.

"What did she say Dymi?" Zoicite gave him an exaggerated wink which he still didn't understand. His brothers, who got the innuendo, just shook their head at their youngest brother's immaturity.

"Er… she said that it would be ok if I brought you guys." Nephrite grinned.

"And we're coming."

"Count me out!" Kunzite yelled as the bread he had put into the toaster popped up which he grabbed and put into his mouth. "See you!" He gave them a wave before leaving the kitchen.

"Count me out too. There's a documentary on the History of Influenza." His friend's eyes lit up.

"Aw man! I really wanted to watch that! Tape it for me?"

"Sure!" Zoicite waved off his friend's thanks as he walked out of the kitchen.

"You guys are weird." Nephrite's expression was so amusing that his friend just had to laugh.

"Come on Nephrite, let's go get changed, I don't want to be late. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave."

"Aww, we'll miss all the fun! What time does the party start?"

"12 30 at "Club Zirconia". Nephrite congratulated the girl on the good choice of a club – the female bartenders were really good looking there.

"Dymi, just make sure you don't wear that hideous green jacket." His friend just stuck his tongue out at him and left.

* * *

"So you're a chemist?" Jadeite rubbed his temple for what must have been the thousandth time today.

"No, I study chemistry, that doesn't make me a chemist." The girl under his arm frowned as she tried to think about how that made sense. Jadeite inwardly groaned – he knew the girl he had picked up at the bar was a bit stupid, but not to this extent.

"Listen, Kei, don't bother your pretty little head over it; if you want me to be a chemist, I'll be a chemist. Just don't come to me with any prescriptions." Jadeite laughed at his own joke while Kei still tried to work out the logistics of the joke. Jadeite's laugh faded as his expression turned to dread – he usually had more luck with the women he brought home, but tonight his sensors were seriously off.

"Why would I bring my prescriptions to you?" Kei looked at him confusedly.

"Because you said I was a chemist and…" Jadeite shook his head. He didn't even know why he was explaining his "joke" to Kei since it wasn't like she was going to understand it. "My place is just around the corner." Kei just smiled and snuggled into his embrace. Jadeite sighed in relief and pulled her closer – she might not have had any brains, but she was a beauty with a smoking body. He didn't seem to notice a raven haired girl walking in the opposite direction toward the elevator who had heard the whole patronising exchange between him and his date.

_If anyone treated me that way I would have karate chopped him in the guts! _Rei thought as she passed the happy couple on her way to the elevator. _But what do you expect from a girl like her? Perfect hair, perfect body and perfect face. _Rei was just like any other girl – she only saw what she thought were faults; her hair was too straight and didn't have enough volume, her breasts were a little on the small side, her legs were a little big from the muscle she had grown during her days as a Sailor Senshi, her eyes were set a little too close and were too big for her liking while her nose wasn't cute and small like Usagi's, but instead it was long and straight. She looked at her clothes and sighed again – that girl was wearing the latest fashion – a small black dress designed by Calvin Klein, Rei knew designers and she knew that her budget didn't accommodate Calvin Klein dresses; instead she was currently wearing an over-sized jumper over skin-tight jeans and hunter boots. She was usually dressed much classier but it was nearly midnight when she got the call from the art gallery saying that someone had broken a glass showcase with jewellery from medieval times. Her boss wanted her to go check it out because there would be an appraisal tomorrow morning before the auction in two days and they wouldn't be able to fix it before the people came.

_And now, instead of being in bed with a nice book and a cup of hot cocoa, cocooned in a blanket, I have to venture out in minus 300 degree, ok that's an exaggeration, Makoto said it was more like minus 10 degrees, and deal with idiots who broke the showcase in the first place! _Rei zipped up her rain jacket with a little more force than necessary as she stepped into the elevator and started putting on her winter accessories on the journey down. Ordinarily she would have taken the stairs, since she was just on the second floor, but the staircase area tended to be really cold during this time of the day. Once the elevator doors opened to reveal the windows of the ground floor all frosted with the snow outside, she braced herself for the coming cold. Making sure her hat covered her ears she took a deep sigh and opened the door.

Meanwhile, upstairs Jadeite had actually noticed the raven-haired girl and her beauty did not go amiss. As he took out his keys to unlock his front door, he peered at the end of the corridor making sure that there were no other apartments – he smiled when he noticed no other apartment which meant that meant that he would be seeing a lot of his gorgeous new neighbour.

"So…do you live alone?" Kei peered at her date from under her eye-lashes. She made her voice purr in a way that left Jadeite's body tingling with excitement.

"Nope. I live with my four…well three brothers and one best friend." He nearly laughed at his slip-up; he and his brothers had grown accustomed to calling Mamoru their brother ever since they found out he was the long-lost prince they were meant to protect. He had become more of a friend-type rather than a superior-type figure to all four brothers. It was weird, while their memories of Crystal Tokyo were intact, there were memory lapses all four brothers could feel they had but Mamoru, Endymion, remained tight-lipped about their past.

"Ooo, will I get to meet any of them?" She laughed as she took a look around the room hoping to find one of the brothers in some nook of the house. She wanted to see whether she had hit the jackpot with Jadeite, or whether the whole family was good looking.

"I hope not." Jadeite muttered. His brothers had an affinity for embarrassing him in front of girls calling him a French dandy whenever they were around and teasing his European dressing style.

"What did you say?" Kei looked up at him smiling – Jadeite just had to smile back.

"Nothing. I was just saying they could be here, but they're most probably at a party we were all invited to." Kei's eyes flashed with hopefulness; maybe she and Jadeite would make an appearance at the party after…after they rested at home… together.

"What kind of party?"

"Oh an old classmate of our best friend's." Jadeite ignored the hopeful look in Kei's eyes – he didn't want to go to that party since stuffy clubs weren't really his thing. He preferred bars and open spaces with a classier décor.

"Oh… that's ok. We can do something some other time." Kei smiled at him and then hugged his arm begging for a grand tour of the house.

After they were done, he had shown her the kitchen, the guest bathroom and his room – she wanted to look into his brothers' rooms too but he said that it would be an invasion of their privacy. He failed to mention that when they were alone they barged into each other's rooms all the time and borrowed each other's things without asking. Such was the life of brothers and such was the life of flat mates.

"Wow, your room is actually really tidy. Most guys usually live in a dump." Jadeite always had his room clean because he was a bit obsessive compulsive when it came to keeping his area tidy. He was, however, very confused to find the living room spotless. Last he heard Nephrite had broken two vases and lamp, or was it two lamps and one vase?, and there was no way he and Zoicite would have cleaned up.

"We like to keep our apartment tidy. Parents sometimes make an unexpected visit since they don't live too far away from here." Jadeite mused at the last "inspection" his stepmother had done with her sons. He usually left when she came to visit because he served as a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity therefore she hated him with a passion, but that day he was with his brothers when she barged into their apartment. He had his own place with Nephrite in the centre of town while they both worked during their gap year – his job required a lot of travelling so their humble abode was indeed humble and, Nephrite swore, rat infested. His step-mother nearly had a coronary when she saw the dump they were living in and it took Nephrite two hours, and a phone call from Kunzite in America, to make her understand that they were guys who were just trying to make it on their own. Then of course Jadeite was to blame because he didn't ask his grandfather, who was one of the richest men in Paris, for a loan. Jadeite shook the memories away and focused on the beauty in front of him.

"So…" Before Kei could finish her sentence, Jadeite's door burst open and his "twin" brother came barging into the room without noticing the couple and went straight to Jadeite's wardrobe. He pulled open the door and started rummaging through his brother's clothes making quite a mess on the floor. Jadeite and Kei just stared, the former with a faint smile, the latter with a look of horror on how this…naked man… had just barged into the room unannounced.

"Ahem." Jadeite coughed politely. Nephrite turned to see his brother sitting on the bed with a pretty girl looking at him with a raised eyebrow and amused expression.

"Heya brother!" The naked boy, conscious now of his public nakedness hid behind the cupboard door. "My room is still a mess from all the packing and unpacking, everything is still in boxes and I need an outfit.

"You could have knocked." The naked man just shrugged in response. "Whatever, borrow whatever you want just burn the outfit after use. I'm not touching anything your junk touched."

"Hey we're brothers…. We're TWINS!" Nephrite enunciated. "We share everything." Jadeite just shook his head at his brother and remained silent. "So, what's your name?" The naked man had found an outfit for his party and was getting dressed but Nephrite had always hated the silence so he decided to find out as much as he could about his brother's date – not that she would stick around for much, they never did.

"Kei." Nephrite nodded,

"Respect." Kei looked at him, confused.

"Excuse me?" Nephrite peeked from the behind the cupboard door.

"Respect, Kei, your name? It means respect in Japanese." He went back to getting dressed. Jadeite noticed the confusion clearly on his date's face. After, what seemed like an eternity, she finally got what Nephrite was saying and grinned.

"Oh! So you know about names?"

"Kind of. I love finding out the meaning behind names and seeing whether the person's personality matches their name." Nephrite sounded like he was struggling – Jadeite guessed that he was probably putting on trousers; while they were both very tall, Nephrite legs were much more muscular than Jadeite's slightly less muscular physique. Also, Jadeite's taste was more European and opted for tighter jeans rather than the slacks his brothers chose to wear.

"So what do your and your brother's names mean?"

"Nephrite and Jadeite are both jade coloured crystals. Our father owns a jewellery store in Tokyo and he thought it would be funny to name his children after lesser known jewels." Kei's eyes gleamed at the term "jewellery store", something which didn't escape Jadeite's attention. She was turning out to be just like every other girl he dated – once they found out who his father was, they all attached themselves to him like honey glaze. He didn't mind though; he used them just as much as they used him and the feeling was mutual; after all, he doubted any girl would find his surliness and promiscuity appealing – also his apathy toward relationships and lack of direction in his life was a big turn off for some girls.

"So what colour crystals are your names?" Nephrite poked his head from behind the cupboard again, eyebrow raised very high. He gave his brother a funny look as if to say "are you for real" but received a mere shrug in response.

"Er… they're both green."

"Oooo, pretty colour." Kei made a mental note to wear more green clothes – well she had to buy some first since green wasn't in style right now and she didn't have any green accessories either.

"Yeah, green is a pretty colour." After throwing his brother another look Nephrite went back to getting dressed.

"How do I look?" He emerged almost seconds later dressed in very tight fitting jeans, a deep blue Ralph Lauren polo neck long sleeved shirt and a black blazer which seemed a little snug on his broad shoulders. Kei's eyes widened.

"You look really good." Nephrite smirked at his brother before thanking the girl and leaving the room. He did indeed look very good – his shaggy brown hair was still slightly damp from his shower, and the blue colour of the shirt brought out the intense colour in his green eyes.

"Have fun!" His brother yelled before the door slammed the echo of his words. He turned to his date who was smiling seductively at him.

"How that we're alone…" She trailed off, her voice returning to the sultry, slight purr she had adopted before. Jadeite grinned and leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

Nephrite chuckled as he put on his coat – his brother had netted a strange one. She was indeed very beautiful, prettier than any of their neighbours next door, but she was dumb as doorknob. He doubted their neighbours were devoid of any intelligence – worry broke over the handsome student's face, they couldn't be as stupid as Kei, could they? He shrugged off his worries and opened the door where he heard the dulcet tones of his neighbour's yelling muffled by their closed door.

"MINA! I TOLD YOU THAT'S NOT HOW TIME TRAVEL WORKS!" It sounded like the tall pretty brunette yelling.

"MAKO, AND I TOLD YOU THAT'S HOW IT WORKS." Nephrite stood in the hallway listening to their argument.

"That movie will make no sense. He already came back in the past as a bad robot and now he's going to be back as a future bad robot going to the past as a good robot." Nephrite strained his ear to hear as the yelling had stopped. What the hell were they talking about?

"TERMINATOR! HE'S A TERMINATOR, NOT A ROBOT!" Ah, the yelling had started again.

"HE'S A ROBOT!"

"THE MOVIE IS CALLED TERMINATOR!" Nephrite grinned; the girls had good taste.

"WHATEVER! The new movie will make no sense, mark my words!" He heard the other girl sigh – who was she? Perhaps she was the raven-haired girl, but she didn't strike him as a Terminator fan.

"Anyway, we already know how time-travel works, we are first hand witnesses to it." The girls laughed while the nosy boy look confused. What did she mean "first hand"? He looked at his watch and smacked his forehead – it was late. He would contemplate his neighbours' words another time.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the party Mamoru was getting extremely bored. He was one of the first people there since Nephrite had yelled at him to go on without him since he didn't have any clothes. _Yeah right, his clothes were probably still in boxes. Jadeite and I told him to come with us in the morning to set up but instead he stayed in the library talking to some girl he had just met. _

"Hi Mamoru! How are you?" Noa, his old high-school friend came and sat down next to him. She already had a drink in her hand and her forehead was a bit sweaty from, Mamoru guessed, dancing.

"I'm fine!" Mamoru yelled over the music while smiling at his host.

"Where are your friends?" Noa peered around his shoulder as if to see whether he was hiding his four burly friends behind him.

"Nephrite's on his way but the rest had to stay at home." Mamoru's voice was getting scratchy from the too much yelling. He looked around for a waitress to bring him a drink.

"Hey, are you ok? You looking to see if he's here?"

"No, I was just wondering where the waiters are, I need a drink." Noa tutted when she couldn't find a waiter in sight.

"This is so typical. Daddy shells out so much money for this place and the service isn't even…"As if on cue a waiter appeared in front of them, a huge smile on her face.

"Hello, can I interest you in a…" The waitress stopped short when she saw who she was addressing. Before she could scuttle away, after all the first meeting shouldn't happen like this, the object of her silence saw her. He blinked once and then twice to make sure that it wasn't some sort of apparition in front of him. When he opened his eyes the third time, the waitress was still there, her genuine smile had changed to a strained, almost scary, grin. She was still as beautiful as she was two years ago and as beautiful as she would be in the future. Even in her costume she oozed poise and charm. Mamoru eyed her from top to bottom, and frowned; she was dressed in black ballet shoes with a ribbon twisted around her calves, a short hooped mini skirt made from material that seemed to resemble plastic with a hula-hoop-type thing attached at a ninety-degree angle from the right side of her waist to the bottom left side of the hem of her skirt (as if to resemble a planet Saturn ring around her) and a cropped top so short and tight fitting that it left little to the imagination. On her head she wore her signature "odango" hairstyle with a hairband that had two springs sticking out of it that looked to be the antennas which completed her sexy alien outfit. Mamoru frowned – why would Usagi dress up like that, or rather, why did Noa make the waiters dress up like that.

"Yes, hi, we'd like two drinks please." Usagi held the tray flat against her stomach, she could almost feel Mamoru's stare on her bare skin even though she was looking directly at her host.

"Um…what drinks would you like?" Nao turned to her friend and Mamoru turned his gaze away from Usagi just in time.

"Er…just water for me thanks." Nao frowned at him.

"Come on Mamoru, you should let loose once in a while. Saori tells me how much you study and you really need some time off." Usagi's eyes widened at the mention of a past acquaintance – _so Mamoru still keeps in touch with Saori huh? _She didn't really feel resentment towards the girl but Usagi knew the girl's feelings were pretty strong for her ex-boyfriend.

"I'll have a whisky, on the rocks?" Nao turned to look at Usagi, a patronising look in her eyes.

"That's a whisky with ice cubes." Usagi gritted her teeth and clenched the tray tighter than was necessary –_ I know you moron, I bartend for a living!_

"Would you rather have ice whisky stones? They don't melt in your drink and water it down." Mamoru grinned – _So she remembers how I like my drink_. Nao looked at Mamoru waiting for his answer.

"Yes please." Nao nodded, as if satisfied with his answer, and turned to Usagi.

"I'll have a cosmopolitan. The bartender daddy hired should know how to make it just perfect." Usagi gritted her teeth once more but didn't say anything. She could make a mean cosmopolitan, in fact, she made many cocktails better than professional bartenders, her friends could vouch for her. When she turned away she caught Nao's words to Mamoru, her nasal voice carrying over the loud music.

"Honestly, I don't know why they let people like her work here. Her hairstyle is all wrong for my party, and just plain childish! I should have checked them before they were allowed to represent themselves to the guests. I mean, what do you expect from young, inexperienced waitresses like her?" Nao flicked her hair and turned her attention back to the man next to her with a big smile on her face. "Where were we?" Mamoru tried not to show his anger toward his host and instead drew her into a conversation about her current studies, a conversation that was quite tedious but it kept her away from pestering the waiters.

Usagi came back for drinks, Mamoru noticed, a while later, by that time which Nephrite had joined them.

"Hello, your drinks!" Usagi noticed the blatant rejection she got from her host, but it didn't bother her…much. She laid the drinks out on the table, with a coaster underneath as per their host's instructions the day before during their "orientation". She held the tray flat against her belly again before turning to the newcomer.

"Would you like something to drink?" Usagi's smile faltered when she saw who it was – Nephrite, thankfully, was too busy noticing Nao's beauty to see that his neighbour was their server.

"Beer, the imported stuff." Usagi smiled and, as she turned to leave, was stopped by Mamoru touching her hand.

"Thanks." He raised the whisky high in her honour, and, as if it were some secret between the two of them, took a small sip, his eyes never leaving hers. Again, as fortune would have it, the other two were too engrossed in their conversation to notice the little exchange.

* * *

Usagi walked back to the bar and threw her tray on the counter.

"I swear, if another girl asks me for a cosmopolitan by the 'famous bartender'," here Usagi put on a high-pitched, voice to mimic their host's friends, "I'm going to kill myself!" She walked behind the bar and picked up the drinks necessary to make the cocktail. The famous bartender their host had hired bailed on the club last minute and threatened the manager with bad publicity if they told the host of his disappearance. Thankfully his replacement, Usagi, was just as good at making drinks – this was due to the number of girl's nights she had with the girls (although they tended not to tell people of their special nights due to alcohol being illegal for anyone under 20 in Tokyo).

"Come on Usagi, please?" The manager begged her. Thankfully, he was a good manager or else Usagi would have refused flat out to waitress and make the drinks.

"Three cosmopolitans coming right up!" Usagi started mixing the drinks as her fellow bartender came up to the counter.

"Heya Usa, two more please. And a martini." Usage scowled at her friend.

"This is insane! I swear, people drink too much." Both girls giggled while Asami joined her friend behind the counter to help out.

"What can I say? Everyone is raving about your cocktails." Asami winked as Usagi speared an olive with a little too much force. "Two olives with that." Usagi turned her head to give her friend a glare. Asami just laughed.

"Sucks to be the only waitress in a BAR that can actually bartend!"

"Hey. Listen, I'll trade you a couple of shifts as a thanks, how does that sound?"

"I would love the extra time Asami, but I really need the money." Asami looked at her.

"Usa, I meant I would do it unpaid." Usagi stared at her friend.

"You really mean that?" Asami gave her friend a brief hug before placing the drinks she had just made on her tray.

"Usa, you covered for me SO much when I had my problems with Yukio, and today you're covering all our butts, you deserve this."

"Thanks Asami, you're a true friend!" Usagi grinned as she followed her friend to other side of the bar.

"I promise I'll tell them to order drinks straight from the bottle and no cocktails. Unless they're REALLY hunky!" The girls giggled again before moving to their respective serving areas.

"Your drink." Usagi placed the drink in front of her new neighbour and went to leave before he caught a glimpse of her. However, she wasn't that fast since the boy had looked up to thank the girl.

"Hey, tha…" He trailed off as he stared at her. "You look familiar…" He squinted at her before snapping his fingers. "You're the new neighbour! I would recognise that hairstyle ANYWHERE!" His eyes lingered a bit too much on her exposed stomach while Mamoru turned away from his conversation with Nao to look at his friend. _Usako is our new neighbour? What? Nephrite better not have forgotten to put in his contacts! I can see him squinting._

"Hi there neighbour. Nephrite, right?" Usagi smiled as Nephrite stood up to shake her hand.

"Yeah! And you're…" He realised she hadn't actually introduced herself to him, or she probably had but he was too busy staring at her friend.

"Usagi." Usagi smiled as she shook his hand; _so he was staring at Mako! Wait till I tell Mina! We're going to have a BLAST playing cupid! _She inwardly squealed while keeping a cool demeanour on the outside.

"This is our friend, the one Zoicite was telling you about." Nephrite realised he had forgotten to introduce Endymion to her. "His name is Endy…Mamoru." Nephrite nearly slipped up on his friend's official name. At home he was Endymion, as a sign of respect – even though they were friends, he and his brothers still held him in high respect – or Dymi.

"Oh a-actually, we've met." Usagi smiled at both of them and tried to ignore the scathing look the host was giving her. "Actually, I've got to run right now, work you see, but I'll catch you later." Before they could protest, Usagi had disappeared amongst the throng of people who had come to wish Nao a happy birthday.

* * *

When Usagi finally went home she opened the door expecting to find the living room empty and dark which was why when she saw Rei curled up on the couch with the light on, cup of tea on the table next to her and a book in her hand, she was shocked.

"Rei, what are you doing up so late?" Rei smiled at her best friend who looked so tired, but refrained from saying anything.

"Stupid people at the gallery broke a showcase and I had to go sort it all out, you?" Usagi plopped herself on the couch, not bothering to take off her coat or scarf. Rei leaned over and took a sniff of her jacket. "You owe me a dry cleaner's bill, my jacket smells of smoke!" Usagi's eyes welled up but she blinked the tears away.

"Rei, I can't afford that." Rei's eyes widened.

"Come on Usagi, you got paid a fortune today, plus the tip she promised." Usagi's body shook but she calmed herself down before explaining to Rei that she was the only one who didn't get a tip because her work ethic didn't reflect the club's image.

"What the hell does she know about the club's image? She only chose our club because our DJ was the only one willing to play her stupid music, which by the way, was CRAP! Whoever thought trance was the music of the future?" Rei huddled close to her friend and put an arm around her.

"Usagi, I was only joking about the dry-cleaner's bill. I mean, my jacket does smell, but I'm not going to make you pay for it." Usagi smiled at her friend.

"Rei, I'm still going to pay for it, I'll just have to pay you back in instalments."

"Are your finances really that bad?" Usagi nodded glumly.

"It's just, school books were SO expensive and I really want to do well. I don't know everything like Ami does, nor do I have your smartness, or Mako's insane talent at something or Mina's drive…I have to study, hard, to get barely passing grades." Despite Usagi's glum look, her friend grinned at her.

"Usagi, how can you think so little of yourself? Ami is smart, yes, but she has an innate ability to just soak up everything she reads…and she reads A LOT! Mako is talented at cooking but you have a talent of making people love you and making them feel better, that's a really awesome talent. As for your intelligence? We're all smart Usagi, and yes I include myself in this, but we all have to study, well except Ami, to get to where we are. If you studied as much as I did, or even as much as Mina did, you would be getting much better grades. I'm lucky because I get to work in the field I'm studying, you don't get to practice what you read. And lastly, you don't think you have Mina's drive? Usagi, you're the most driven out of all of us! You are doing EVERYTHING you can to be the Queen we're all expecting you to be. Yes, we have high expectations of you, but it's only because we know about your capabilities. Every day you're driven to be the best person you can be, and that takes a lot of energy. You work and you go to school and you make time for your friends, and on occasion, you date!" Usagi giggled at the end of Rei's rant. "Come on Usagi, we'll help you. I have some money left over from my first pay check and grandpa did send me my monthly stipend from the temple."

"Rei, my finances aren't that bad. I can still pay my share of the rent and the utility bills, I just can't afford those new manga books I wanted." Rei jumped away from her friend and looked at her with a look of horror.

"You're upset because you can't afford new manga books!?" Usagi turned to check that Rei's rise in volume didn't wake up their roommates.

"Keep it down Rei!" She whispered urgently.

"Usagi! Seriously? You got all upset because…" Usagi couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell Rei, after all, it come out much sooner than later.

"Rei, I saw him." She cut her friend off mid-rant. Rei looked at her, confused.

"Saw who…?" Before she could finish it came to her – of course, who else could have Usagi in such a tizzy?

"Mamoru." Usagi nodded.

"And the worst part is this… he's our new neighbour!" Rei's eyes were ready to pop out from her shock.

"He's living with those two guys that came over?" Usagi nodded again.

"Oh my girl!" Rei leaned in again and gave her a tight hug. "Do you want some coco?" Usagi shook her head. "Do you want to take a nice, long, hot shower and then you can sleep with me. Do you want that?" Usagi nodded slowly and she followed Rei to the bathroom. The raven-haired girl drew a bath for her best friend and when it was half full she did one of her Sailor Mars tricks and heated the water to the perfect temperature – a trick she had perfected after performing it many times over the years. She threw in some bath salts from her private collection and let her friend soak in the bathtub and collect her thoughts.

That night as Usagi snuggled in Rei's magnolia smelling sheets she muttered a sleepy thanks to her best friend. Rei smiled knowing that she would regret her choice in the morning when Usagi would spread out all over her bed. Thankfully it was a big double bed and she wouldn't be starved of space that much.

"Night Moon Princess." She turned to see her friend who was bathed in a whisp of moonlight that shone through a crack in the curtains. She certainly was beautiful, Rei had to admit, more beautiful than any of the girls, and they all knew it. But they never held it against her, how all the guys would stare at her before redirecting the attention to the rest of the girls. It wasn't just that Usagi was pretty, but she also exuded so much confidence and held herself in such a regal way that it was bound to attract most of the guys.

Tomorrow she and Usagi would have to convince the girls of another "girl's night". It was long overdue and they all needed to vent about various on goings in their lives.

* * *

A/N 2: Ok longer author's notes go on at the end. I LOVE this story for some reason and it just came to me to write more so I got really excited! I am loving the positive feedback I'm getting so thanks!

**Moonprincess998 **thanks! Hope I updated fast enough :)) but it probably won't always be this fast because I have two other stories and my first story takes precedence.

**Isis Aurora Tamoe **wahey! We have 'aurora' in our names! Woot woot :)) hope this satiates your need for more

**Guest **aww you make me blush! I hope it turns out amazing too! But when I have reviewers such as you! ;p Jadeite's age has been stated (can't believe I forgot him – he's my favourite!).

**Guest **Thanks! Hope this was what you expected and more.

**Kai2 **sadly their first meeting has already happened :)) HOWEVER! I was seriously thinking about him borrowing a cup of sugar from them before you even reviewed! Great minds think alike!

**Questions: **I just would love to hear what you guys think and have these questions answered if you want to ;))

1) Out of all the guys, who's your favourite so far?

2) Which couple are you looking forward to reading most about?

3) What do you think of the friendship dynamics (the girls' relationship and the guys')

To everyone who /favourited/alerted/followed – THANK YOU!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Meetings

Mina was going to be so late – she was going to yell at Artemis so much since he was the one who was supposed to wake her up. _I'm going to miss this audition which I really want to go to. _She got up and dressed as fast as she could. She heard someone scurrying around in the kitchen; _Makoto is probably up making breakfast and I'm going to miss it!_ She nearly cried at the thought of missing one of Makoto's breakfasts but instead chose to run into the kitchen and fit as much as she could into her mouth.

"Morning Mina, late again?" The blonde beauty shot her one of her famous death glares while the tall girl just grinned.

"I packed your breakfast when I saw that you were late."

"Why didn't you wake me up?! Artemis was meant to but he's off playing ally-cat with Luna."

"First of all, ew, I don't need to know the intimate details of Artemis and Luna's role-playing games. Second of all I didn't even notice you were late until I glanced at the calendar and saw that you have an audition in twenty-five minutes." Mina glanced at the calendar near the door which was custom made by Usagi's mother when the five girls went off to university. Each week was divided into five by seven squares with each girl's names written on the left hand side; each girl filled in what they had going on that week so that their flatmates were aware. The girls stuck to that calendar religiously after they had a scare with one of Usagi's night shifts; neither of the girls knew she was working that night, Usagi claimed she had told them but it was impossible since one of her friends would have remembered, and the girls were up all night wondering whether to call the police or not.

"Mako, I love you so much!" Mina kissed her friend's cheek as a lunch box was pushed into her hands.

"Good luck Mina, I'm sure you'll do great!" Mina nodded and went to the coffee machine and poured a generous amount into a travel mug. She saw her friend eyeing her jumper warily. "New jumper? Doesn't seem like something you would wear." The blonde girl looked away but not before her friend saw the look of regret in her eyes.

"It's from this guy I met last week." She frowned – something was going on with her friend, and the guy whose jumper she was wearing. Mina never regretted a night of casual sex. Makoto wanted to press on but couldn't since her friend took a look at the clock on the wall and let out an anguished howl.

"Bye Mako… Thanks for breakfast!" Mina stole an apple from the fruit bowl before waving at her friend and running out the kitchen. She didn't know whether Makoto had realised the change in her demeanour but if she did then there was no escape from that girl's clutches. Her friend was relentless when it came to wanting to know things. She sighed as she opened her front door and ran towards the elevator. She clicked the button impatiently – she knew she should have taken the stairs but she wanted to avoid the people on the first floor; one of the guys had taken to waiting in the staircase every morning and every night, usually the time she came home from work, to ask her out. While Mina was no stranger to dating, she didn't want to go out with anyone in the building in case there was any tension and/or embarrassing situations. She snorted as she saw the irony in her words – this was pretty much what she had wanted to avoid and she hadn't even dated him!

The elevator was slow so Mina punched the button again and again with less patience every time.

"Pushing the button more times and that hard isn't going to make it come faster." Mina tutted and turned around to reply to the gruff voice which had spoken. What she saw made her stop in her tracks – the voice belonged to a tall man with shaggy blonde hair and grey eyes. She saw a flash of recognition in his eyes; _So he remembers me!_ Mina went to speak but all she could do was squeak. There was no way she could speak to this man so instead of saying anything she ran toward the staircase and decided that an awkward encounter with the boy on the first floor would be better than this. The man just stared after her, still waiting for the elevator to arrive thinking; _Who is that girl? Where do I know her from? And why is she wearing my sweater? _He heard a female voice greet him as the doors of the elevator opened.

"Kunzite!" The girl had an annoyingly loud pitch. Kunzite turned to see his neighbour from the fourth floor looking at him with a big, bright smile on her face – his face remained stoic, barring any emotion that his pretty face could show.

"Mara." His voice was curt – he wasn't generally a man of many words and he wasn't about to waste his breath on his annoying neighbour. He entered the small space and stood next to her.

"Hi Kunzite, I was just wondering whether you wanted this blueberry pie I baked." Kunzite turned to look at her and drew his gaze from her eyes to the pie and then back to her eyes. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her with such intensity that when she spoke again there was an obvious tremor in her voice. "It w-was j-j-just to w-w-welcome y-you t-to the b-b-building." Kunzite raised an eyebrow and a hint of a smile was seen on his face.

"Thank you, but I cannot accept this." The elevator had reached the ground floor and the doors opened. Before Mara could argue with the man, he had exited the elevator and walked towards the door – before he opened the glass doors to the outside he made sure his shaggy blonde hair was under his beanie and that he was well protected against the cold. Mara stood in the elevator, still holding the blueberry pie, sighing as she watched the man leave the building. He held himself with such composure, as if he were some noble from the Far East. Mara sighed once more before the doors of the elevator closed and she stood a while just staring at the closed doors thinking of the blonde man before pushing the button to her floor. She looked down at the pie that she still held in her arms and grinned – perhaps she would invite Kunzite over so that they could eat it together and drink coffee – this way he wouldn't have to accept the pie, just her invitation.

* * *

In the apartment opposite the girls a black haired boy woke up with a start, he had had a nightmare again.

_"Darien…we need to talk." Darien felt his heart clench almost as if he could prophesise what was about to come. Usagi wasn't looking at him directly in the eyes and her usual bubbly demeanour was rigid and bleak. Her usual smile was turned into a frown and she couldn't stop twiddling her hands. Mamoru took all of this in and sighed – Usagi, his Usako, had changed so much since they met three years ago. She was fourteen then and had just become Sailor Moon; he was starting to remember his past as Prince Endymion and they were both thrown together into an intricate and inexplicable past. A year later they were met with more trials, not as Usagi and Mamoru but as future Queen Neo-Serenity and Prince Endymion of Crystal Tokyo. Their child, Chibiusa, had come from the future bringing with her peril and a new fight. After they had defeated the future threat and saved the past, a new threat arose; it was a miracle Usagi had survived and she had to do it all on her own since he had left her to go study at Harvard._

_Now he was back and she had changed – she had grown more beautiful, if it were possible, and her eyes held a wealth of wisdom in them he hadn't seen in anyone ever before. He had gone to university with the smartest people from all over the world yet Usagi had something that they didn't – she held the future of the world in her hands and a type of smart that no one else's could rival. _

_"Usagi, I think I know what you're going to say, but…don't." Mamoru muttered as he leaned in to give her a soft kiss, as if silencing her in some way would make her forget what she wanted to say. His heart broke into a million pieces when she turned; he saw a single tear fall down her cheek but he didn't move to wipe it away._

_"Mamoru, I have to talk to you… we…" He could hear her voice faltering. She didn't want to do it, so why was she forcing herself?_

_"Tell me what I did wrong, tell me so I can fix it." He wasn't even embarrassed about the evident pleading in his voice. Perhaps he shouldn't have left her alone here to go pursue his studies._

_"Mamoru, listen to me." Her voice was stronger, more composed. She had straightened her slump shoulders and stopped twiddling her thumbs; she had composed herself as any future Queen would when faced with adversity. "I want to be on my own for a while. Chibiusa coming from the future was a big shock and at first… I was happy knowing that we would last that long. I knew my feelings for you would never change and I was so glad that it could last a whole lifetime. What we feel for each other…now… I can't tell whether it's being influenced by what we know from the future. I think I love you, but I'm not sure." Mamoru felt a pang in his chest almost as if her words were arrows piercing his heart._

_"You think I love you because our future child told us that we would end up together?" For some reason Usagi gave a small smile._

_"Mamoru, I don't doubt your love for me now, I just want to make sure."_

_"I don't understand what you're trying to say."_

_"Mamoru, we're meant to live a whole forever with each other, that's a long time. We have a child from the future who is 900 years old…"_

_"Usagi…what are you trying to say?"_

_"I need some space. I want to break up." She had said it. Mamoru look away – he could see a family eating on the grass and the child, who was about six years old, held her hands up trying to get her father's sandwich. The father grinned and toyed with his daughter before giving in to her and letting her take a bite out of his lunch. Mamoru smiled – that could have been him and Chibiusa; Usagi would be the mother who would be looking at them lovingly with her arm around his waist._

_"Why don't I give you some time to think about it and then we'll meet up again…"Usagi shook her head._

_"I'm going away with the girls for a year. I can't tell you where, scout secret. But I've been doing a lot of thinking and I know that this is the right course of action." Gone was the cry-baby who failed her tests and screamed bloody murder when faced with a youma who couldn't be defeated – in front of him was a girl who had seen and felt death, who had the fate of the world resting heavily on her shoulders, who had been through so much she had changed completely; she had graduated school with really good grades and had an offer from one of the best universities in the country. She used to be his but now… he wasn't sure about now but he knew that in the future she would be his again, no matter what._

_"Usagi, you and I will end up together, we've seen it." _

_"Mamoru, I've seen the future and I want it to happen so badly, but the future is always changing, it depends on what we put into motion." She sighed. "I want that daughter who was brave enough to cross time and space to try and save us in the future – I want the future we saw together but right now, all I want to do, is be a normal girl. I don't want to be together with you because we've seen it, I want to be in love with you, I want to feel that every moment without you is torture, I want to think that a lifetime without you would be pure agony… I want to love you like I could never imagine loving anyone in my whole life."_

_"But you could feel all of those things if you gave us a chance." _

_"How can I give us a chance when there is doubt in my heart? Mamoru, I am Sailor Moon, guardian of the Moon and justice, I have fought every day for the past three years against all the evil that came on this planet – I need to be alone to find myself."_

_"I can help you find yourself. I can be there…with you…every step of the way, like I've always been." _

_"No Mamoru, I have to stop depending on you. I have to learn to be independent and learn to live before taking on my duty as Neo-Queen Serenity."_

_"But…" Before he could finish Usagi stood up and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead._

_"Bye Mamoru. If this is really meant to be then we will find each other again. When we do we can decide then whether we were really meant to be." She turned away and walked away until she became a black dot against the sunset. Mamoru sat on that bench until late at night – he couldn't even tell her that he had found his Shittenou who knew nothing of their past actions. He couldn't tell her that he was coming back to Tokyo and was planning to go into a PhD research programme after graduating next year. He wanted her there and she wasn't going to be._

_The image blurred and the scene changed to a dark dingy club where his beautiful ex-girlfriend was standing in front of him dressed as a very weird looking alien. _

He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he thought about the nightmare he had – a nightmare he had had many times in the past. . He groaned and covered his face with his hand – Usagi, his Usagi, was living right next door to them. Before he had time to register anything else his door flung open. Before he could think any more his door flung open and a very dishevelled looking Nephrite barged in.

"Mamoru, I need help. Jadeite has his door locked and I need to get a book of his." Mamoru looked at his friend, his expression clearly read 'please elaborate'. Nephrite sighed. "I'm in love with the girl next door. I can't stop thinking about her – I even tried to get my mind off of her by talking to your friend Nao, but…futile attempts." His friend had made his way to the foot of the bed and sat down, shoulders slumped over in defeat.

"Ok…so what do you want from Jadeite's room?" Mamoru wondered whether Usagi's flatmates, his new neighbours, were the other Sailor Senshi and then wondered which one of the five beauties had capture his friend's attention.

"He has a book on how to woo the ladies." Mamoru couldn't help but laugh.

"Surely you don't need that kind of help. Your experience speaks for itself." He thought back to all the times Nephrite had brought a girl home. "Hold on… why does Jadeite have a book on how to woo the ladies, as you so eloquently put it. He is the one out of all of us who doesn't need it." Whether it was his friend's mixed race look, or the fact that he grew up in Europe where people were less reserved than in Japan, Mamoru knew that his blonde friend didn't need any help in picking up women.

"I got for him as a joke last Christmas. The thing is, that book had some really helpful tips!" Mamoru looked at his friend strangely.

"Nephrite, you definitely do not any help from some stupid book." Mamoru said as he rubbed sleep from his left eye. He inwardly groaned as it was too early in the morning to have this conversation with his friend.

"But…" Mamoru cut him off.

"Why are you up so early anyway?" Nephrite shot him a dirty look.

"I haven't slept all night. I swear, that girl is a witch and she's beguiled me!" Mamoru smirked.

"Beguiled… big words for someone like you." Nephrite grinned until he fully grasped what Mamoru was saying.

"Hey! I read…on occasion." He stuck his tongue out at his friend and then ran to the door. "I heard his door open! Be right back!" Mamoru groaned and fell back onto the bed. He contemplated locking the door but then thought of his friend who was apparently so much in love he was risking his brother's morning wrath. Mamoru shot up when he heard some yells and quickly rushed out of bed to see what was happening.

"I AM SO SORRY!" He heard Nephrite yell and saw the boy come out of the door, eyes closed, bumping into the wall in the process.

"GET OUT YOU PERV!" Mamoru grinned – it seemed that Jadeite had a girl over and Nephrite had barged in on them during a very intimate moment.

"Mamoru I thought that she would have left! Jadeite never lets the girls sleep over!" Mamoru grinned and beckoned his friend to follow him into the kitchen where he poured them a generous amount of coffee in jumbo sized mugs.

"That coffee machine pays for itself." Mamoru sighed as he inhaled the fragrance of the drink he loved so much. Nephrite grimaced as he took a sip of the black stuff and took his cup to the cupboard where he put in powdered milk and three big spoonfulls of sugar.

"How do you drink this stuff? It's disgusting." Mamoru laughed.

"Ah my friend, you have not had to pull two all-nighters in a row have you?" Nephrite shook his head. "This stuff is what gets you through it." Mamoru pointed at his mug before picking it up and taking a huge gulp.

"Morning!" Zoicite was already up and dressed, carrying a book and holding a cup of coffee.

"Morning brother. How are you?"

"Good. I was up all night studying." Mamoru grinned at him.

"I heard the TV on in your bedroom. You were watching "When Harry Met Sally" weren't you?" His brother laughed at him while his friend grinned over his cup of coffee.

"What? It's a really good film." His voice got high and squeaky as he rushed to defend himself. Nephrite walked over to his brother and slung an arm over his shoulder.

"I really should introduce you to some manly films like "Die Hard" and any Old West films." His brother shot him a dirty look and shrugged his arm off his shoulder.

"I don't need to be introduced to those films – I've seen them and violence does not a good film make." Zoicite put his mug on the counter and turned to pick up his rucksack which was lying on the counter.

"Zoicite, you can't leave your stuff on the kitchen counters, it's unsanitary." His friend scolded. Zoicite chose to ignore him and his brother who was currently peering into the contents of his coffee.

"Hey, where did you get this coffee and why does it smell so good." Zoice sauntered over to his brother and daintily picked up his cup shooting his brother a dirty look.

"It's my private stash." Mamoru looked at him strangely.

"You have a private stash of coffee that I have never heard about? How come?" Zoicite debated whether to tell him that his friend had an unhealthy addiction to coffee and that any time someone brought coffee home, he would end up drinking most of it. He decided to tell his friend this and added,

"Also, this coffee is really good and I have to walk all the way into town to get it from this special shop. It's strong and smells and tastes like caramel." His brother's eyes shot way up.

"Caramel coffee? Give me, I want to try!" His brother reached out for the mug but Zoicite just grinned before bringing the mug to his lips and draining every last drop of the coffee.

"Sorry brother. Anyway, catch you later, I have to go to the library." As he left he yelled over his shoulder. "Don't wait up for me! I have tap lessons after this!" Nephrite looked at his friend in horror at his brother's words.

"Since when does my brother tap dance?" Mamoru looked up at him.

"If you took the time to actually listen to what your brother says instead of staring at girls all the time, and wondering how to get them, you would probably learn a lot of things about him." Nephrite sat down next to his friend and vowed that he would pay attention to his brother next time he spoke. However, even as he thought this, his mind wandered to their cute neighbour next door and wondering what she was doing this very minute.

* * *

Makoto was in fact cooking breakfast for Usagi who had just woken up.

"Morning Mako!" Usagi yawned as she made a beeline for the coffee. Makoto was surprised as she hadn't expected her friend to be up so early.

"Didn't you have a late night last night?" She brandished the spatula at her friend before turning back to the pancakes. Usagi sat at the counter and put her head into her hands before groaning from lack of sleep.

"I did. I came home SO late and I forgot that I had a meeting with my supervisor!" Usagi yawned again and forced herself to sit upright since Makoto was kind enough to serve the pancakes in a plate and bring it over to her. Her eyes widened at the stack of pancakes in front of her topped with maple syrup, whipped cream and fresh fruit – the whole décor looked like it was made by a professional. She shot her friend a grin before cutting a large piece of the first pancake and stuffing her face. Makoto turned away as her friend's eating habits had a tendency to churn her stomach in all the wrong ways. Usagi's grunts and constant chewing was an indication that she was enjoying her breakfast very much.

"Do you know what time Rei came back?" Makoto took the opportunity to ask her friend as she took a sip of her coffee – her mouth was empty and could therefore talk.

"Oh, she was home and when I came back and we went to bed together." Usagi's thoughts turned to the sleeping girl she left in the bed. When her alarm went off she quickly turned it off and turned to see the girl next to her stirring. Usagi reassured the sleeping girl that everything was ok and that she had plenty of time to get up since she didn't have any classes that day. Rei mumbled something incoherent, turned to the other side and went back to sleep. "She must have been exhausted since she didn't wake up when I woke up, and you know what a light sleeper she is. My alarm can wake up a dead army." Usagi grinned as she thought of her alarm tone which played a very upbeat pop song Mina and her had sung for karaoke one year. Her friend turned to look at her, eyebrow furrowed.

"Why would your alarm wake up Rei?" She sounded confused and Usagi suddenly remembered that the other girls didn't know who was living next door to them. She ate another piece of pancake and swallowed before explaining to her friend last night's events and all about seeing Mamoru again. Makoto sighed when she finished retelling the story she had told Rei, and added the extra part of her talk with Rei and sleeping in Rei's bed.

"Usagi…" Her friend's voice trailed off. She honestly didn't know what to tell her except that they would be there for her in case she needed anything.

"Thanks Mako, I know you're going to be there for me." Usagi scraped up the last piece of her pancake and wiped the plate clean of any cream or maple syrup before placing it into her mouth. The blonde girl glanced at her watch and screamed, spraying bits of pancake all over the counter. Makoto turned around in surprise. She heard her friend yelling something through the mouthful of pancake in her mouth – years of experience had made her (and the rest of the girls) expert at Usagi's second mother tongue (Japanese through a mouthful of food) and understood "I'M LATE! I'M SO LATE! I HAVE TO GO! THANKS MAKO FOR THE FOOD!" She understood right as Usagi picked up her briefcase from the floor and ran out the door still yelling unintelligible things in her wake. Makoto just grinned as she wiped up the sprayed piece of food on the counter.

The next person who came into the kitchen was Ami who was staring over her shoulder looking confused.

"Is Usagi late again?" She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip. "At least she thanked you for breakfast." Makoto grinned as she passed over a tray of museli and cut up fresh fruit to her friend.

"Yeah, she has a meeting with her advisor." Ami took the tray, thanked her friend and sat at the counter. She picked up a stray book which belonged to one of her friends and read the blurb.

"I thought she came back late last night. I was up finishing my essays for next week and I heard her talking with Rei." She put the book down and made a mental note to read it after she was done with her extra credit essays.

"She saw Mamoru." Ami froze, leaving the spoon mid-air. She turned to look at her tall friend who was busy cleaning Usagi's plate.

"Don't tell me…" She breathed and Makoto nodded her head as if she had read her mind.

"He's our neighbour and he was also at the party last night." Ami ate her muesli and thought about the turn of events.

"Poor Usagi, we'll have to make sure to tell her that we'll be there for her no matter what."

"I already did. I suggest that we have a girl's night the day after tomorrow." Ami looked crestfallen.

"Oh no, I can't. I have to study!" Makoto looked at her suspiciously.

"What do you have to do? You've already done your extra credit essays and all your essays for the end of the semester. Mercury, are you…" Ami flushed with embarrassment – Makoto always used her Senshi name when she accused her of studying too much, "taking more extra credits?" Ami flushed and continued eating her muesli and fresh fruit with a gusto very much unlike her. "Ami! You have to stop or else you're going to over-work yourself!" Ami speared the last of the fruit from her plate and popped it into her mouth. She just smiled at Makoto as she brought her tray of dirty dishes over.

"Makoto, I have to keep busy or else I am going to go crazy!" She pushed her friend gently out of the way as she cleaned her dishes – Makoto thought she had to be everyone's personal cleaner but Ami always thought it was selfish to constantly rely on her to keep the house clean.

"Fine, whatever. But I'm guessing it's due at the end of the semester so you can probably take a night off and have some fun." Ami blushed again. Makoto's eyes widened as she read her friend's mind again, "Ami! It's due next semester?"

"Stop that! How do you do that?" Makoto grinned.

"We've been best friends for, how many years now? And you still ask that question. We've fought youmas and I've had to anticipate your every move, we all have, we're bound to have some psychic powers!" Ami giggled at her friend's exuberance.

"Ok, I will try and come to the girl's night." Makoto groaned.

"Ami! You are an integral part of girl's night! We have to grill you about the new neighbour." Ami flushed red again. She hated that she could blush this much but she couldn't help it.

"Ok Mako, I will come. But no talking about the new neighbour since nothing is going on." Makoto grinned at her friend.

"Yeah right. I bet that if you two don't kiss before Christmas I will personally make the girls stop pestering you about clubbing. However, if he does kiss you, then you have to promise to come clubbing with us once a month." Makoto peered at her friend's flushed face.

"Mako, I cannot promise you anything. I do not like taking bets like this." Makoto grinned.

"It's because I'm going to win, and you know it." Ami chose to ignore her friend and instead changed the subject.

"I'm going to the library now since their collection on fungal viruses is far more extensive than mine." Her friend grinned at her.

"You don't mind reading about fungal viruses and looking at pictures of them and yet when you have to look at me stuff a turkey, you whine." Ami grinned.

"Stuffing that turkey was disgusting. It smelled quite bad and you know I do not want to become a surgeon."

"Yeah, yeah," the tall girl brushed her off, "I know you want to become a paediatrician." Ami's eyes lit up at the thought of finally becoming a paediatrician. She spoke a bit more with Makoto about dinner plans and then bade her goodbye. Makoto took a look at the kitchen clock and sighed – Rei wouldn't be getting up any time soon since she had come late. Makoto, however, had to get to class since she wanted extra time to learn how to properly slice tomatoes julienne style quickly and effectively. She arranged Rei's breakfast on a tray and covered it up before going to her room to change.

* * *

Ami closed the front door behind her and unknowingly walked into a tall figure.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She bowed her head in respect as she apologised. A chuckle brought her attention to the man in front of her.

"It's fine." His voice had a slight lilt to it and sounded almost melodious. His smile was genuine and showed off his perfectly straight teeth. His shoulder length hair was tied into a neat ponytail.

"Hello Zoicite." The boy's grin widened.

"You remembered my name…Ami." He winked at her as if they were both in on some joke. Ami flushed and moved away to start walking towards the staircase. Zoicite followed her keeping up with her fast pace. Ami tried hard not to flush but he smelled so good and he looked so handsome!

"So, where are you off to this fine morning?" Zoicite followed Ami down the stairs and waited patiently for her to answer.

"I want to go to the library to finish a paper I am writing on fungal viruses." Zoicite look at her impressed.

"Are you studying to be a doctor or do you just like writing papers that challenge you?" Ami giggled.

"No. I am studying to be a paediatrician but I enjoy studying the pathology of abnormal viruses." Ami found it surprisingly easy to talk to the person next to her. He was also walking toward the library and made an effort to talk to her about her work. As time went by she blushed less often and spoke more easily. She found out that he was a triple major, which was a feat for anyone, and enjoyed watching romantic comedies which his brothers and friend found really weird and constantly teased him about it. They parted ways when they arrived at the library – Zoicite made sure to exchange phone numbers in case they wanted to meet up for lunch; Ami blushed at the idea of having lunch with him but she managed to convince herself that she liked him just as a friend. In the meantime, the blonde boy was thinking that he had finally met his match; Ami was intelligent, perhaps even smarter than him, and fun to talk to. He enjoyed watching her blush and made a point to brush shoulders on more than one occasion which fuelled her redness. Zoicite grinned – he was going to like having her as neighbour. His thoughts turned to a conversation he had had with his brothers and Endymion the day before – she was definitely out of his league and, for some reason, he found the challenge refreshing. He wanted her and not like he wanted other girls – she was someone he could see him having a future with and it didn't scare him. He walked off toward his lecture grinning the whole way.

* * *

Back at the apartment Makoto and Nephrite met in the hallway as they exited their respective apartments at the same time. Nephrite grinned at her while Makoto laughed.

"Hey!" She smiled at him. Nephrite greeted her back and furiously tried to remember the book's instructions on how to greet a woman. He had leafed through it while Jadeite and Kai were having their breakfast, but for some reason he came up blank – it was as if he had forgotten everything he had read.

"Where are you off to?" The tall girl grinned at him as she waited for him to join her.

"I have to go to work. You?" Makoto opened the door to the staircase and let him through.

"I study at the chef school in the centre of Tokyo. Where do you work?"

"I work at the university – I'm a teacher's assistant and I also tutor some kids who are falling behind." Makoto was impressed – he was probably a really smart guy. "So you cook!" He grinned at her. "None of us in the house can cook and we survive off tinned food and lots and lots of pasta." He laughed at the girl's horrified look. Makoto couldn't imagine eating out of cans and eating plain pasta when she could be eating a shabu-shabu or a kaiseki-ryoric made from scratch.

"Wait, you mean to say that you guys don't cook any food." Nephrite sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and Makoto could see two red spots appearing on his cheeks.

"Not really. Zoicite tried to cook once but he forgot the food in the oven and burned it to a crisp. Mamoru swore that he made the best curry, he said he learned from the best, but it tasted like sludge (and I am saying the polite version of what it really tasted like). Kunzite wouldn't touch a stove even if his life depended on it – he and Mamoru used to live on take-out when they lived in Boston. And me… well I try to avoid anything that gets me stressed." He flashed her a smile that set her heart pounding five miles a minute.

"I can teach you! I'm a very good teacher."

"I'd like that." Nephrite offered to walk her to the bus stop but he hadn't anticipated how close the bus stop was to their apartment. He stayed for a while with her, talking about the different foods that she enjoyed cooking and what would be the best recipe to start him off with, until the bus came. She got on and thanked him for his company. He made sure to ask for her number and, when he saw the bus turn the corner, shot a fist up in triumph. He ignored the strange looks people around him gave him and continued walking to the university at a very fast pace considering how late he was.

* * *

Usagi decided to go get a cup of coffee after her meeting with her supervisor went worse than she could ever imagine. Her supervisor had decided that Usagi was actually smart and asked her whether she would consider taking a more advanced political theory class. The future princess also showed an aptitude for the more practical classes. Her advisor gave her the option of completing some extra credit assignments that would look good on future job applications, as well as join a few societies at the university to embellish her CV. She shuffled in the line and eyed the cakes in the display case with a hint of drool dribbling from her open mouth. She spied her favourite chocolate cheesecake and decided to accompany that with a black coffee. She gave a wry smile at her choice of beverage; before she had met Mamoru, she had never drunk coffee in her life and the bitter taste was not appealing. However, after dating the caffeine addicted boy, she found a new found passion in caffeinated beverages and put her new discovery to good use – she drank coffee to moderate her sleepiness thus she was able to find more time to study and practice being a senshi.

She gave her order to the cute barista at the till and just as she was about to pay, someone behind her thrust forward and put down a bill to cover the expenses and added,

"A black coffee too please." She scoffed and was about to give the stranger a piece of her mind when she saw who was standing directly behind her. Usagi stopped, mouth open but not moving, just staring at the man who had paid for her.

"Mamoru?" She breathed. The man gave her a faint smile and accepted his change from the confused barista – it wasn't often that people standing in line paid for the person in front of them. Judging by the girl's reaction, she knew the man and probably had a history. The barista shook his head and for some reason he felt that these two belonged together, that whatever issues they had should be resolved, sooner rather than later. He inwardly laughed at himself and his silly thoughts – he tended to over-romanticize his job as a barista and, due to sheer boredom, would wreak his over imagination on his poor customers. He swiftly put the order of the couple onto a tray and passed it over to them with a smile. They both thanked him but continued staring at each other. The boy had picked up the tray and walked to a table while the girl followed him in a daze, almost as if she had been enchanted. The barista grinned – it wouldn't be long before those two got together.

At the table Usagi and Mamoru had settled into the chairs and sat silently waiting for the other to make the first move. Usagi peered at Mamoru over her coffee cup and gave a small smile; he was still really good looking with his shaggy black hair, warm brown eyes that held a world of wisdom in them, and a body that was bulked in all the right places. Meanwhile Mamoru wasn't being at all discrete as he studied the beautiful girl before him; she had filled out in all the right places, had stopped growing when she hit 5 foot 2 and therefore still remained petite, her hair was still long and in her signature hairstyle and her eyes… they were windows to her beautiful, pure soul, and reflected the maturity she had accumulated while they had been apart. It hit a sore spot knowing that she had changed so much while they were apart – she had grown smarter, to get into her university she had to have done really well at the entrance exams, more mature, from what he could see; she had become a beautiful woman, blossoming into the future Neo-Queen Serenity and he wasn't there to witness it.

"Why did you break up with me?" Usagi choked as she stuffed the last of the chocolate cheesecake into her mouth. He waited impatiently as she chewed.

When she finally finished chewing, she replied: "Mamoru, I told you why we had to break up a really long time ago." Mamoru shook his head and frowned.

"That was a copout and you know it. You told me that we had to go our separate ways so that you could learn to be independent." Usagi sighed.

"I told you more." Mamoru could see her trying to remain calm – her hands were in fists and her knuckles where white.

"You said some bullshit about having to be apart before we're sure we want to be together and something about you not wanting to spend an eternity with someone without being completely sure. Usako, we both saw the future, we know what happens, why are you trying to fight it?" He could see tears welling up in her eyes and felt something tug at his heart but he chose to ignore it – he wasn't going to let her leave without an explanation.

"My name is Usagi, I didn't give you permission to call me by a nickname." She saw Mamoru's determined expression change to disappointment. "Also, I gave you an explanation about why I wanted to break up. You can't come a few years later and demand another explanation, or ask me to explain myself." She left before Mamoru could protest or grab her hand. He let out a frustrated growl and downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp. He left the coffee place angry and dejected not knowing which of the two made his stomach churn in turmoil. He decided to conference in his best friends when he got home – a boy's night out if you will, to discuss certain matters. Perhaps Nephrite would want to contribute to the issues. He made his way back to the apartment preparing himself for a long night of studying.

* * *

Rei woke up feeling happy, for some reason. This was one of the rare moments where she could sleep in; how times had changed since she was at school where she would always get up on time and do her chores without grumbling. Perhaps she was influenced by her two best friends, Mina and Usagi, and saw the light in sleeping in on mornings like this. She stretched her arms high above her head before pulling the blankets off of her – she shuddered as she came into contact with the cold air around her. She put on her dressing gown, left it open, and walked to the kitchen hoping that her friends had not forgotten to set the coffee machine for her. Before she reached the kitchen, her doorbell rang; puzzled, she shuffled over to the door and peeped through the hole – there was a blonde, beautiful man with an equally beautiful girl standing next to him. Tentatively, Rei opened the door and greeted the couple in front of her.

"Good morning. How can I help?" Rei inwardly cursed at her formality – some things never changed, her time at the temple had forced her to greet people in a polite and formal manner. She saw the man raise an eyebrow in amusement but didn't say anything so she turned to the girl.

"Hi, good morning. I was just wondering whether we could borrow some milk."

"Uh… yeah sure!" Rei invited them into the house and asked them to wait while she went into the kitchen to fetch the last of the milk making a mental note to put it on the grocery list.

"Thanks!" The girl said as Rei held out the milk. "We're from across the hall and Jadeite's brothers drank all the milk." The girl giggled and put an arm around his waist.

"I'm Rei Hino." The girl put out her hand expecting a handshake but received none from the man; meanwhile, Kai had introduced herself and shook Rei's hand with much fervour.

"I hope we get to see more of you." Kai smiled warmly at the raven-haired girl who managed a small smile in return – it was too early to be smiling like that and she didn't have any caffeine in her system. Rei bade them goodbye and sighed with relief when she closed the door. Her mind finally made the connection between the couple she had met yesterday in the hallway and the couple who had "borrowed" some milk.

"Who the hell _borrows _milk? How does she expect to return the same milk back to me?" She wondered out loud in an exasperated voice. Unbeknownst to her, Jadeite was still standing on the opposite side of her door while Kai was busy checking the mail box – he had heard everything and it took a lot of effort to supress a laugh.

Rei sauntered into the kitchen and poured herself a generous amount of coffee before spotting the tray her chef-friend had left her. Smiling against the rim of her cup she skipped to the tray and picked up the note her friend had left.

**Hey Rei,**

**You didn't wake up in time so I made you breakfast – French toast with fresh strawberries (picked by me this morning), porridge with cinnamon and I shall put in fresh coffee for you since we all drank it.**

**Ami and Mina are coming for dinner, text me if you're in or out. Usagi gave me a garbled reply – something about an essay she had to finish and a library but I don't believe that so I just think the maple syrup went to her head. **

**Ciao!**

**Mako**

Rei grinned as she uncovered the tray and sniffed the contents. Her stomach growled with hunger so she gave in and ate every single morsel her friend had prepared. As she ate she thought about the couple she had just met – they were both extremely beautiful and well suited for each other. She snorted as she thought about how their conversations went since the girls seemed too stupid to actually converse about substantial issues. She cleaned up her plates and groaned as she thought of the long day of studying ahead of her. This was going to be torture – the day was beautiful and she would have to stay inside all day going over some documents the gallery had sent her and then finally starting on her essay for university. The only things she could look forward to was the gallery opening tomorrow and the dinner Mako would be bringing tonight.

* * *

A/N:

To clarify, the Shittenou have memories of Crystal Tokyo but their respective lovers are in guardian form and they don't know their human forms. I probably should have clarified this beforehand. They don't want to live their life ruled by the future. Also, even if they get their memories from the past, they still won't know who their lovers are in human form. Does this make sense?

Also, I will pick and choose what I like from the anime and what I like from the manga (although bear in mind I haven't finished the manga).

**TropicalRemix: **The scouts and the shittenou broke up because they were reincarnated into their future selves and all that happened with the shittenou trying to kill the senshis. You get a insight into why Mamoru and Usagi broke up.

**Serenity 312: **Thanks! I am trying to put in a lot of Usagi and Mamoru interactions but N. Takeuchi wrote them so well and so cute together that I feel just AWFUL about having them broken up – not to fear, they will get back together!

**Aela: **You are free to read whatever you want and to feel whatever you want : ) As I have said before, I accept criticism and I shall respond to your review as best I can without making it seem like I'm angry (because I'm not) : )

Rei is studying and working at the same time – loads of people do that

I was under the impression, with doctor degrees, that after your first three years you do another three years (which is a PhD) in case you want to do research. Mamoru wants to research as well as become a surgeon so this is what he's doing now before doing his residency. Also, I screwed up the age of graduating since I was under the impression Japanese schools were like my home-country's schools were pupils usually graduate at the age of 17 – the senshis took a year off for reasons which will be explained later.

About their relationship/breakup – I made some typing errors in my hurry to get this chapter out, which I fixed (the name Saori too). What I wanted to convey in my story is that everyone grows up and their ideas change – I'm not the same person I was when I was 14/16/18… and I want the girls to be changed because of everything that they've been through. Rei's self-confidence has waned (again it will be explained), and Usagi is starting to have her doubts about ruling Crystal Tokyo (hence why she is doing a degree). It's something that I find happens to everyone. I will try and keep with the basics of their characters but it's hard to when you are writing them a few years older than when the manga ends.

I do hope you get to like the Shittenou later on because this is how I imagine them. They've been reincarnated and have no memories of what they did in the girl's timeline. They are brothers and the dialogue reflects who they are – the banter is just how I imagine normal brothers to be like.

I accept all your criticism and hope you continue reading my story – I really want to hear what you think about it whether it's good or a criticism. I appreciate you taking the TIME and the EFFORT to write such a long and detailed review outlining your concerns – after all we're all Sailor Moon fans and all have a right to read what we want ; )

**Maryyorke: **Hope you enjoyed this as much as the previous one!

**Sage McGavin: **I don't know if you're Kai2 who I mentioned in the previous chapter with the cup of sugar ; ) haha, I love all my reviewers and want to mention them by name cause this is how much you all mean to me! Hope you like this chapter too ; )

**Isis Aurora Tomoe: **I hope the way I write Makoto lives up to your expectations since she is your favourite! : )) I LOVE her too and if I were a senshi, it would probably be her cause she's so awesome!

**TaxPrincess: **Your excitement is awesome! I write Nephrite like a guy who is has a very exuberant personality and always excited about everything. I can't wait to write him together with Mako. Mina and Kunzite – aww I love their backstory in this cause I love how strikingly different their personalities are.

**A: **Ok, I don't know if you've ever seen "Pretty Little Liars" but your name made me laugh so much! And it wasn't even a threatening message (you understand what I mean if you've seen the show). Thanks though for the luck – I'm gonna need it! Usagi is an amazing bartender and Nao will be sorry she ever doubted her!

**Syluai: "**Interesting"… hm… is that good or bad? ; ) As you can see, one does not agree with the break-up as much as the other one. Tell me what you think!

**JasmineDragon 92:** I LOVE your enthusiasm! Kai will be sticking around for a while unfortunately – stupid Jadeite for thinking with his … than his head! How did you like Mina/Kunzite in this chapter?

;)) I'm so overwhelmed with all the reviews! And so glad to everyone who has favourite/followed! I am SO glad you like it! I love writing this story so much cause my imagination can run wild with 4 different relationships! I will be changing some characters and their personalities – poetic license and all – but I will try and change it in a believable way – kind of like stick to their original personality but imagine how they will grow.

Questions:

1) What do you think of the Usagi/Mamoru breakup? Does it make sense?

2) Mina/Kunzite… dumdumdumdum…. How is THAT going to pan out?

**AuroraFireMadness**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Girls' Night In, Boys' Night Out

"USAGI! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?!" One blonde yelled to the other as she ran from room to room trying to find her shoes.

"MINA KJSHF SKJDHF SDJLKFSLKFJSLD SLKDFJSDLKJFSLKJF DLKSJFDSLKFJSD LKJFS SDKKFJEIWSDNV" Which roughly translated to "MINA, I WOKE UP LATE TOO AND DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO TRUST ME WITH WAKING YOU UP?"

The two blondes ran around the house trying to dress themselves and pack their bags while the rest of the girls were in the kitchen finishing off their breakfast.

"I've got their breakfast ready in a small bento box." Makoto put the two packed breakfasts on the counter for easy access while Ami came over with two travel mugs.

"I put their coffee in a travel mug" and placed them close to the bento boxes.

"Those two are always late!" Rei huffed as she shovelled more muesli into her pout.

"They're getting better though." The voice of optimism, Ami, mused as she sat back into her seat.

"How are they ever going to learn how to live in the real world when they can't even follow a simple schedule?" Rei chided as she checked her reflection in her pocket mirror. Makoto smirked at her best friend.

"What? Mina lends you a Donna Karan dress and you just snap back into being the old Rei?" The raven-haired girl snapped her compact mirror shut and stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

"I'm not _snapping _back into the _Old Rei_. I am merely making an observation and stating my opinion."

"Mhm." The tall senshi grinned.

"Come on girls, no more squabbling. We need to get the girls out of the apartment or else they will be late!" As soon as the words were out of the smart girl's mouth two blondes came thundering into the kitchen, scrambling around on the counter trying to pack their bags.

"Don't forget girl's night tonight!" Mako brandished her spatula at the two girls who nodded furiously. Usagi looked up and spied Rei's plate,

"Food." Usagi looked morosely at Rei's muesli; the raven haired beauty pulled her bowl toward her and pointed to the stack of bento boxes on the edge of the counter.

"This is mine. That's yours. Thank Mako for packing it for you." Usagi and Mina looked at their tall friend and grinned.

"Thank you Mako." They chimed in unison. Makoto chuckled.

"And now thank Ami for the coffee." The blondes turned to their smartest friend, smiling and bowing in gratitude. Mina checked the clock on the wall and squealed; she slapped Usagi on the arm and yelled,

"USA! WE'RE LATE!" Usagi turned to the clock and screamed again.

"AHHHH!" Mina grabbed Usagi's hand and ran to the door rushing out of it and, in their haste, failed to notice two shaggy haired boys exiting the opposite apartment. The two boys looked in shock as the girls ran past them towards the stairs – Mina yelling to Usagi that it was worth meeting the awkward boy on the first floor if they made it to university on time.

"Brother, we live opposite weirdoes." Nephrite clapped a hand over his brother's shoulder, who sagged a bit under the weight, and tusked. Zoicite laughed his melodious laugh,

"Just be glad they aren't the girls we're after." Nephrite bellowed in laughter as they walked toward the elevator.

* * *

Before the boys left their apartment the two boys were calmly eating their breakfast in the kitchen when their friend walked in dragging his feet as he did so.

"Morning guys." Nephrite chewed thoughtfully as he stared at his friend who was currently pushing the buttons on the coffee machine without noticing that there was no water and no coffee grounds in it.

"Dude, there's no water or beans in it." His youngest brother pointed out. Their friend turned, his eyes still red from lack of sleep.

"Oh." He shuffled to the cupboard and took what he needed for his morning cup of coffee. As he pushed the buttons he let out a big yawn.

"Ok, what's wrong with you? Who died?" Zoicite let his spoon fall into his bowl with a clatter and faced his friend. Nephrite shovelled more cereal into his mouth and also turned to his friend to hear his response. Mamoru just turned, his eyes half closed, and looked at his friends with a blank look.

"No one died." Nephrite narrowed his eyes and turned to his younger brother expecting him to confront their friend for the both of them since his mouth was currently full of food.

"Cut the crap Dymi. Why the hell do you look like… well hell?" Kunzite walked into the kitchen and walked over to the cupboard to get a bowl.

"Dude, you look like shit." He said as he took a quick glance over his shoulder toward his friend.

"He's been like that for two weeks." The last brother came into the room and pulled Nephrite's plate toward him, took Zoicite's spoon from his empty plate and shoved the breakfast in his mouth.

"Hey!" His twin protested. Jadeite grimaced as he bit into the meal.

"This is disgusting, what the hell is it?" Nephrite grinned.

"Choke on it you bastard, you stole my breakfast!" Jadeite shrugged his shoulders and shoved more food into his mouth ignoring his brother's sputtered protests.

"Hello, back to Dymi and why he's been like a zombie for the past two weeks." Zoicite pointed to their friend who was currently taking large gulps of his coffee.

"I've just been studying a lot. PhDs are hard!"

"Don't lie." Jadeite pointed the stolen spoon to his friend. Mamoru sighed. There was no escaping his friends. Before he could say anything Nephrite tutted.

"Zoi, we gotta go brother, we have class in like twenty minutes!" Zoicite glanced at his watch and sighed.

"Don't think you get out of this. We're going to hear about it tonight at dinner."

"8:30, Manolio's?" Their friend asked. His friends nodded as they slung their backpacks over their shoulder and walked out of the kitchen.

"Seriously what is this crap?" Jadeite protested in his brothers' wake.

"Muesli with dried prunes." His friend offered.

"Great, not only does this taste like shit, but I'm also going to be crapping all day." He shoved the plate away from him and slid off the chair. His friend and half-brother grinned with the former offering to give him anti-diarrhoea medication 'just in case'.

"See you guys tonight!" Jadeite didn't wait for a response before leaving the kitchen.

* * *

Usagi sauntered up the stairs and saw the boy who had a crush on Mina sitting on the step reading a book.

"Hey Masaaki, what's up?" Usagi stopped in front of him and flashed him a smile the boy couldn't help but return despite his somber mood.

"I'm reading." He held his book up but it didn't pass Usagi's notice that the book was upside down – she had heard him hastily open the book and ruffle the pages when she pushed the ground floor door open.

"Masaaki, Mina is already home, you should go home too." Masaaki got up, his movements reflecting his current mood, and turned towards the door. He stopped for a second and turned to look at Usagi who was on the first step of the second flight of stairs.

"She… she's trying to avoid me isn't she?" Usagi thought carefully about her next words – how could she tell Masaaki that Mina took the elevator from the second floor, which made her late sometimes just waiting for it, just to avoid him since he really wasn't her type? It wasn't that Masaaki was ugly, in fact he was quite the opposite; he had shaggy brown hair, a warm smile that seemed to match his eyes on occasions when he didn't feel Mina's rejection and was genuinely interested in her. However, Mina wasn't interested in dating guys their age; she preferred them older, with prospects and who were experienced. She liked being treated as a mature woman, rather than what she really was - which was a first year university student. Years of being a sailor senshi had made the girls mature beyond their years and Mina, who was the leader of the senshi, had to make decisions beyond her 16 years of age.

"Masaaki, Mina would be interested in you, but she doesn't want to date anyone in the building. If things do go south, which is likely in Mina's case, think about how awkward this would be." Masaaki nodded, having heard this speech many times from Mina before but not really believing it. Usagi noticed his misery and walked toward him, "Masaaki, you are a really good guy. You're handsome, nice and you would make any girl happy. Mina isn't in a position to be in a relationship right now and it would be a shame to see you waste more time on her. Go out, have fun, and maybe, some day, Mina will notice what an amazing guy you are." She flashed him her biggest grin which prompted a weak smile in return.

"Thanks Usagi, you're a really good person." Usagi laughed embarrassed by his sentiments and ran up the stairs leaving Masaaki to mull over what she said. She made sure her keys were in her hand so that she could be efficient in opening the door to her apartment lest she run into any unwanted neighbours- it had been two weeks since her talk with Mamoru and she didn't know how to face him. She shoved the key into the lock and ran into the apartment closing the door hastily in her wake.

"USAGI!" Three voices sounded as one and Usagi saw three of her best friends holding up a shot and downing it, laughing with hilarity at something Usagi hadn't quite yet caught on. She turned to her other best friend, who seemed to be sober, leafing through a hardback book on the couch.

"You will have to drink 4 shots in order to keep up with them." Usagi grinned and shed her coat letting it fall to the floor.

"Hey! Your coat!" Rei scolded as she topped up her friends' shot glasses and added an extra glass for their newly arrived friend.

"Even when you're drunk you still can't see mess!" Usagi picked up her coat and threw it on the coat hanger not caring that it was all crumpled, and joined her friends who were sitting on the floor around the coffee table.

"Now we drink to Luna!" Mina raised her glass and downed the shot, the other girls following suit. Usagi heard their smart friend sigh as she took a small sip from her glass.

"AMES! YOU GOTTA DOWN IT GIRL!" Makoto filled up a shot glass and downed it as if to show Ami how a shot was really drunk.

"I do not want to get drunk like you." Ami sounded so responsible that Mina giggled.

"We're not drunk Ami, we can all hold our alcohol. We're just trying to get into the mood." Rei grinned as she downed the glass Makoto had just filled.

"Usagi! Make us cocktails!" Mina whined and Usagi happily complied. She got up and walked towards the built in bar that had come with the apartment; she remembered her parents' expression when they saw the gaudy corner that had the capacity to hold a well stocked liquor cabinet. Their horror lasted only as long as it took them to go to the local liquor store and buy them a couple of drinks – her father had even purchased a mini wine cooler and stocked it with a few good wines "in case anyone of age comes over and you want to offer them some wine" he winked at her knowingly. Usagi laughed as she made the drinks at her parents' antics; ever since they had found out her secret identity, they had treated her like an adult and, in return, she acted like one. They had seen her transformation from crybaby Usagi Tsukino, to beautiful, regal future moon princess. Her relationship with Shingo had even matured – no more did they bicker about things (well, sometimes they did but that's neither here nor there) and he even started going to her for advice. He had become captain of the football team at school and girls fawned over him but he chose the girl he had chosen years ago – the quiet doll maker Mika – and he relied constantly on his sister for help on how to get the girl of his dreams to come out of her shell.

She brought an assortment of professionally looking drinks over to the table on a tin tray that depicted her favourite movie (Beauty and the Beast) and placed it in the centre of the table. Mina took a fruity daiquiri served in a highball glass garnished with a lemon peel; Rei took her classic martini, stirred not shaken (unlike James Bond's drink) garnished with two olives; Makoto picked up a classic margarita served with lemon and salt around the rim; Ami chose her favourite red wine with an assortment of fresh fruit and cinnamon in an extra large classic wine glass; and Usagi picked a cosmopolitan served with a maraschino cherry and garnished with a lemon peel slice. Once the girls had their drinks Makoto asked them to wait as she brought out the finger food she had prepared in lieu of a feast since "finger food was much better suited to this type of a gathering rather than sit at a table eating proper food". Soon the coffee table was full of the wonderful food Makoto had prepared; red velvet/choco chip oreo/chocolate fudge/vanilla mini muffins, mini fruit tartlets, goat cheese poppers with honey, creamed spinach tartlets, mini leek and roquefort quiches, brie and salmon mini sandwiches, baked mozzarella sticks, falafel with tzatziki dip, mini kebab sticks with vegetables, mini pigs in blankets, mini cheese pies, mini olive pies, and the piece de la resistance her famous three tiered chocolate and cognac cake which she made on very special occasions adorned the table and the smell of the amazing cooked food even enticed Ami to leave her book discarded on the couch and join the girls on the floor sipping her drink every so often to clear the palette for the next 'amuse bouche' (as the French called it).

And thus the girl's night in began.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Manolio's, Mamoru was the third out of the boys to appear and when he arrived he swore that he could cut the tension with a knife. Kunzite and Jadeite had arrived before him, and they were sitting at opposite sides of the table, not looking at each other and not speaking. Mamoru greeted them and took a seat near Kunzite. Relief washed over the two boys' face simultaneously as they greeted their friend with a bit more gusto than intended. Mamoru sighed; it was a shame to see two brothers, well half-brothers really, not get along. He could guess that the tension between the oldest brother and the illegitimate brother was justified, to a certain extent, but it didn't warrant their current behaviour. Kunzite never really accepted Jadeite as his brother, unlike Zoicite and Nephrite who got along with their half-French brother like a house on fire – and Jadeite never really took to his older brother's apathy toward him.

When they were five years old, Jadeite had flown to Japan for the first time ever to visit his father and the rest of his family. Kunzite, who was already at an age where he understood that this boy was the reason his parents fought all the time, took a complete disliking to him the minute they met. The younger brother had tried to get along with his older brother, whom he seemed to revere at that time, but his attempts were futile. His admiration for his brother grew as his two other brothers regaled him with tales of their older brother's bravery and his competence at extreme sports. When he was ten, his father came to Paris and brought over his brothers. This time, he was determined to make his older brother like him but again, to no avail. From that moment on he made a promise that he would love his two other brothers like he should and be completely indifferent to Kunzite – a stance which the latter didn't seem to mind.

"Hey Dymi, Zoi and Nephrite are coming from the library now. Apparently the library brought in a new shipment of books that got Zoi all excited and since he was meant to be coming with Nephrite, they're both late."

"Right… so should we order? By the time they come, their food should be here." The good thing about the five boys was that they were all predictable in their meals – as long as it had meat, it was good. Manolio's made the best butter and beer steaks, baby ribs with Jack Daniels sauce and a platter of cooked meat, kebab style. The boys usually ordered two of each and put them in the middle where they would each put what they wanted on their plate.

"Already done!" His friend winked at him. Mamoru laughed. He was in the process of taking off his coat telling the story of how his lecturer wanted him to teach the first years when the remaining two joined them at the table.

"Sorry we're late," Nephrite interrupted, apparently out of breath, "but Zoi here," he jerked his head to indicate his brother on his left, "just had to look through one hundred new books that the library recently bought."

"Hey!" His youngest brother protested, "I needed to get first dibs on the good books." He sat next to Jadeite, his eyes following his brother who sat in between his twin and their oldest brother.

"Yeah well apparently you weren't the only one. Some weird chica got there before you." Zoicite grinned.

"Ah brother, not any weird chica, our beautiful neighbor weird chica." Nephrite leaned closer.

"Makoto reads medicine textbooks?" Zoicite furrowed his eyebrows before he realized that he and his brother were talking about two very different women.

"Dude, I'm talking about Ami." Nephrite narrowed his eyes.

"Who's Ami? The blonde one?" Kunzite and Mamoru both jerked their heads simultaneously to look at Nephrite. Before either of them could say anything, Zoicite replied,

"Before these two have a coronary, no. Ami is the blue haired one." Nephrite shaped his mouth into a silent O, realizing who his brother was talking about. Zoicite turned to see his friend and older brother looking at him with a strange expression on their faces.

"Before we go into how I know, what I know, have we ordered? I'm starving!" The boys nodded. "Good!" He poured himself a generous amount of red wine and turned to his other two brothers. "Now let me tell you about the two blondes living in the apartment opposite us – one broke Mamoru's heart a year ago and the other spent a passionate night with Kunzite who, as per his usual standard, did not ring or text her back the morning after and now he realises how much he regrets his decision." Jadeite and Nephrite turned from their youngest brother to stare at the brother and friend, open mouthed.

"What?" Mamoru and Kunzite drank deeply from the wine glasses hoping to hide their stunned looks.

"Oh brothers, and friend, you think I know nothing, but I know, and see all. Now, what you two don't know is that Usagi, Mamoru's beloved, is actually kind of already over him and has been dating since the breakup, unlike her counterpart, and Mina is exactly like our older brother who doesn't regret one night stands. And the jumper she is seen wearing, which is actually Kunzite's favourite jumper, is just a memento of some night as she does this quite often."

"Spill it Zoicite, how the fuck do you know all this?" Kunzite spat his youngest brother who just gave him a smile in return.

"Brother, I know all."

And the boys leaned in closer to hear how Zoicite was so informed of their personal lives marking the beginning of their boy's night out.

* * *

"So what did you say after all that?" Rei picked up a salmon and brie sandwich daintily with her fingers and popped it on her mouth.

"Nothing. I just…I left…" Usagi sounded so forlorn Makoto put an arm around her pulled her close. Usagi unwrapped two muffins and stuffed them in her mouth before taking a sip of her drink. Rei tried not to look too disgusted as she reached for a mini quiche.

"He still doesn't get the reason you broke up?" Usagi shook her head at her blonde best friend.

"But… I… how much more concise could you have gotten?" Usagi had never seen her smart friend flustered before.

"I really don't know. I don't know what he wants from me." Rei turned to her best friend, her face serious, as always.

"Usa, in the one year that you were apart you have grown and matured so much. I'm not saying that Mamoru held you back, no way, but you clung onto your relationship like a girl who was in love. You let jealousy lead you at times and because Mamoru was so in love with who you were, you didn't allow yourself any space to change. Under any other circumstance, that would have been a good thing – who doesn't want a boyfriend who is in love with our flaws? But you're the future Queen of the Moon and you had to change, not for Mamoru, but for your people." Mina looked from Rei to Usagi and continued since Rei had stopped talking hoping that Usagi wasn't taking what she was saying the wrong way.

"I agree with Rei. I think you have come a long way and you needed some distance from Mamoru. We discussed this a year ago and I stand by our conclusion; you love Mamoru and we want to see you two together, but you had to spend some time apart just so you can truly grow into the true you." Mina stopped to let Ami continue, the next part only Ami could say since she was the least judgmental of the four.

"Usagi, we were all there for you. We saw you cry and weigh the decision of going back to Mamoru but you stuck by what you said. And, to be brutally honest, we love the change in you. You were always a strong leader, despite your laziness and your crying bouts; we don't love you more now than what we did then. But this change is for the better, for your people. We would have accepted your decision to go back to Mamoru… but I think spending a year apart did you so much good." Makoto grinned and continued where Ami left off.

"I remember the first guy Mina introduced you to three months after your breakup. You kept telling us it was too soon but the minute you saw him you were stunned by his good looks, it was just too bad he didn't have the brains to match. What I'm trying to say is that you moved on but you never forgot. We're all just wondering if that's what you REALLY want, or if you just want to go back to how it was." Usagi sighed and the five were silent for a while as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"I don't know what I want just yet." Usagi finally spoke. "I do know that my decision to break up with Mamoru did me good. I learned to grow as a person and I learned what I really wanted without being dependant on anyone. I just… I remember our past together and our future and then our present-life past and I think that we're clearly meant to be so why am I having doubts?" Mina laughed.

"I wish we had someone in our past like you had Endymion." Usagi masked her concerned look – her friends didn't know about their past relationship with the shitennou since neither of them had felt that bond yet; just like she didn't remember her past with Mamoru until their feelings had reached a point where it opened their memories of their past together. This was something she couldn't fix for her friends, and only it was really meant to be would their memories come back. "But whatever you choose to do, remember, we're here for you." Her friends smiled at her and Usagi just had to smile back.

"I think you're having doubts cause you realise how much you've changed and you like your change. But there's no denying that knowing about your past-past, present-past and future, my God are our lives confusing, is swaying your decision." Makoto reached over for a mini quiche.

"I know. I want to stay single for a bit – well, the kind of single I've been for a while – and just get to know Mamoru again and see whether we're still compatible."

"Atta girl." The tall girl nudged her shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Hey, if that doesn't work out, there's a guy in my psych class who would be perfect for you!" Mina chimed in which made the girls laugh – all four girls were glad to note Usagi's laughter was genuine.

"Enough about me! I want to know why Mina's been avoiding the guys next door!" Four pairs of eyes turned to the blonde girl who bent over suddenly very interested in the mini quiche she was about to eat.

"Spill girl." Makoto took a sip of her second drink and waited impatiently, with the rest of the girls, to hear Mina's story.

* * *

"FOOD!" Zoicite exclaimed at the sight of the waiter bringing over six heavily laden plates. The waiter, who knew the boys, placed the dished in the middle and came back to set out individual dinner plates.

"Are you SURE you don't want salad?" He asked. The boys laughed – the waiter had become a friend over the past two months of them coming here so often and he had apparently made it his mission to get them to eat more salad since their unhealthy appetite would lead them to an early grave.

"Noooooooooo" Zoicite turned to look at the waiter, two bright red spots on his cheeks. The waiter laughed – the boy could not hold his liquor.

"He'll be fine once we put some food in him." Nephrite noticed their friend's concerned, but amused, look. Zoicite, oblivious to the conversation, turned to the food and started serving himself. The boys followed suit.

"Zoi, you're not allowed to spy on us anymore." The blonde man turned to his oldest brother.

"Kunzite, I wasn't spying. It's not my fault I saw our neighbour leave the house with your precious sweater, nor is it my fault that I guessed what had our friend deep in the slumps lately." His comment earned a protested 'hey!' from his friend but he ignored it. Apparently a bit of the steak had sobered him up. "I'm not going to explain it again to you." Kunzite shook his head in disbelief and turned to his best friend.

"So what are you going to do with Usagi?" Mamoru chewed carefully thinking about how to respond when he had so many conflicted feelings about the girl.

"Well obviously you're going to move on right?" Nephrite interrupted his flow of thinking.

"You can't still be in love with her." Jadeite looked shock at the prospect of his best friend still being in love with his old girlfriend after all she had done to him.

"It's different. Usagi and I share two pasts together…we're…I think the word is soulmates." Jadeite scoffed.

"I see your point but she treated you terribly and you haven't been in a relationship since breaking up with her."

"Nephrite's right." Everyone turned to the youngest of the group. "You don't know what it's like to be with someone else. You're clinging to an Usagi you knew, not the one that exists now. You told us yourself that she's changed quite a bit since you last saw her. You two might not even be compatible."

"He's right." Jadeite mused. "While I think it's ridiculous to believe in soulmates, you and Usagi do share a special bond, something which the rest of us will never feel with a girl because we weren't ever in your position to love someone in our past lives." Mamoru shifted uncomfortably in his seat as if he knew something but it went unnoticed by all except Zoicite who looked at him with a curious expression on his face. "I think you and Usagi have to become friends first before you can decide whether she's the one you want to spend eternity with." The boys knew that Mamoru had travelled to the future and they understood his obvious attachment to the blond girl.

"He's right." Nephrite spoke up. "But I think you should try dating someone new. What about Noa's friend, the friend you have in common? Sako? Seiko?" Mamoru sighed.

"I have a history with her too." Nephrite grinned.

"From what I saw that night she still likes you."

"You think?" His friend nodded.

"That's settled, you should call her." Zoicite grinned. "I shall have her number by tomorrow." Everyone turned to look at him horrified by how he was able to come by information so fast but he just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"One day brother, you're going to have to teach me your way." Zoicite just grinned and bit into his juicy steak. "I wanna hear more about Kunzite and his girl." His older brother shot him a death glare.

"There's nothing to tell!"

* * *

"You slept with someone you met that night?" Usagi turned to her smart friend and sighed.

"Really Ames? Out of the story she just told us, you chose to comment on that?"

"Yeah…you obviously don't know Mina." Mina pretended to be offended by Rei's words but both girls just laughed instead.

"Mina, that was really dangerous."

"Come on Mako, like you've never done that!"

"No! I knew them all beforehand. And none of them were that much older than me."

"Seven years isn't much Mako."

"True." Usagi chimed in slurping a new drink from a straw. Mako just stared at her friend before adding more advice.

"Usa, you knew Mamoru. Mina didn't know this dude."

"Well, now's her chance. He lives, literally, right across the hall." Mina scoffed.

"What's done is done. I don't go back to one night stands."

"No even if they were THAT good?" Rei winked. Mina, Usagi and Makoto burst out laughing while Ami just looked like she didn't know whether to be horrified or laugh along with them.

"Anyway, there's someone new."

"SPILL!"

"He's this guy in my psych class and he is SO good looking." Rei looked shocked.

"Wait… you mean…he's our age?" Mina's cheeks flushed.

"Oh no Mina!" Usagi realised. Ami caught on and gasped.

"YOUR TEACHER?!" Makoto and Rei whipped their heads so fast it was a wonder that they didn't get whiplash to look at their friend.

"You're sleeping with your teacher?" Makoto asked.

"Well, she got a really good jumper from her previous…fling. Why shouldn't she get a really good grade this time?" Rei chimed in all seriousness but her friends could see the humour and sarcasm behind her words.

"Mina, you could get expelled for that. Can't you?" Mina turned to her blue-haired friend.

"Relax Ames, you can't get expelled – and he can't get fired since he's tenured."

"Well then by all means, go ahead with the sex… it's not like it's immoral or anything."

"Mako… we're both adults…" Rei interrupted,

"Just how much of an adult is he, just out of curiosity."

"He's 35." Usagi choked on her drink and only stopped sputtering after Makoto hit the right spots quite hard on her back.

"Thanks." Her voice was weak.

"No problem." She turned to her other blonde friend. "35? Wow…" Mina grinned.

"Hey… he's VERY experienced!"

"Ew!" Rei was grossed out but the other girls, even Ami, laughed.

"Well that's me! I can show him to you tomorrow Usagi if you pick me up from class."

"I want to see him too!" Rei demanded.

"Me too!" Makoto whined.

"I would like to see what the fuss is all about." Mina looked at her friend aghast.

"Ami… you want to see my fling! That's a first." Ami blushed.

"Well… if he's as experienced as you say he is, shouldn't we see what experienced looks like?" The girls all burst out laughing.

"AMI!" Usagi was laughing really hard. "You have Zoicite! He's experienced enough!" Ami's blush deepened.

"I don't have anyone!" The girls all started protesting while their friend tried futile attempts to calm them down.

* * *

At Manolio's the men were trying to drag the story out of their taciturn friend/brother. It took a lot of guessing on everyone's part to get the whole story out of him.

"Ok so, you met her at a club and slept with her and never called her back." Kunzite exhaled exasperatedly.

"For the millionth time Zoi, I told you that sentence like a million times."

"You only told me twice; the third time you just said 'didn't call her the night after'. What do you want me to make of that?" Nephrite could see his older brother getting red in the face which meant that he was about to blow up at any moment.

"I think Zoi just wants more information like… why was she wearing your jumper." Kunzite shot his youngest brother a death glare before turning to answer his other brother's question.

"Dunno."

"Helpful!" Zoicite did little to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Did you give it to her to wear because it was cold?" Mamoru tried. His friend nodded.

"Ah… so she was dressed in slutty clothing." Zoicite's eyes widened. He could see his brother clutching the steak knife rather possessively, his hand twitching almost as if he wanted to throw it at the youngest man.

"That's murder." The brunette brother said noting the twitch.

"She wasn't dressed in slutty clothing. The dress was just a little on the short side." Kunzite breathed heavily trying to control his anger toward his youngest brother. He knew Zoicite was goading him into giving more information but he wasn't generally a very talkative person.

"But it must mean something if she kept the jumper and continues to wear it."

"It's a very good jumper." His brothers and Mamoru laughed at his feeble attempt at a joke.

"Your favourite. You never lend that jumper to anyone. Even if someone was dying, you would never lend that jumper. Why did you give it to her?" Jadeite turned to Nephrite,

"I'm confused about this jumper? What's so special about it? Is it made out of pure gold?"

"My grandmother gave it to me." The oldest replied curtly. Jadeite looked a bit shocked at receiving an answer from his oldest brother but didn't say anything despite not having his question completely answered.

"Kunzite was really close to grandma Ryuu. She was our dad's grandma and apparently in her time she was a sort of ninja. She worked as a spy in First World War and taught Kunzite all he knows about martial arts and sword fighting. They spent loads of time together when he was young. She lived in a remote cabin up in the mountains. That jumper was her present to him when he got his first dao on his black belt – she passed away shortly after." Jadeite nodded as he took in information from his brother's past – this was news to him and when he turned to see his brother, he looked at him with new found respect.

"Anyway, the point is that Mina has that jumper and you don't seem to want it back." Kunzite shot brother a death glare which silenced him….for the time being. "Anyway…now Nephrite can tell us about the chocolate he's been receiving but doesn't want to share with us!" Nephrite grinned at his brother.

"Nu-uh! I want to know about you and Ami. Is she really smarter than you?" Zoicite laughed.

"Well…"

* * *

"Girls, there is nothing to tell. Please don't pressure me!" Usagi was so close to her friend that she was practically sitting in her lap.

"Come one Ames! Have you kissed?" Ami turned to her brunette friend aghast.

"Makoto!"

"Hey, it was an innocent question!"

"Question is…have you and Zoicite been playing innocent?" Rei mused, eyes half shut as if judging her best friend. The girls laughed and turned to Ami to hear her response.

"Nothing has happened and nothing will happen!" Ami assured them.

"But…but we like him for you!" Mina chimed, eyes wide.

"He's smart and funny and seems to get you to open up. Something which, until he came along, only we could do." Usagi stopped to think about what she said. "Hold on… I don't know whether to feel threatened by him or embrace the fact that he makes you feel so comfortable." This earned her a light slap from Rei.

"You baka! We're trying to convince her to date this guy, not dump him and run for the hills."

"Really Usa, I don't think you get what matchmaking means." Ami stared at her friends.

"Matchmaking? You guys have talked about this?" The girls looked at her guiltily.

"Ames, we just want you to be happy. I mean we feel really bad. First, Greg turns out to be a bit of a douche and we… well we haven't exactly been helping you."

"What do you mean?" Usagi looked at her friend; her humour was replaced by solemnity.

"Ami, as Sailor Moon I asked you four to give up so much! You were the one who suffered the most! You had the chance to go to Germany and study but I took that away from you. We've all had to give up a small part of our lives, but you… you made the most sacrifices. As future Queen Neo-Serenity I am asking you to give up your future too and that's a lot for someone like you. I just think that Zoicite can make you happy and he can brighten up your future." Ami smiled at her friend.

"Thank you Usagi, I know you are just looking out for me. Thank you all." She looked at each of her friends before continuing. "I could have gotten on that plane and gone to Germany – I knew exactly what was waiting for me there but I also knew what I was leaving behind. You four are the most precious things I have in my life. You taught what it means to have friends, to live a life beyond academics. You were my life and I could not get on that plane and go to Germany knowing that I would be leaving a big part of my life in Japan. Usagi, Queen Serenity, I know what I am doing, I know the consequences of my future actions and I am fully prepared to take on the duty of being on your personal guard. Being here, with you four, is enough fulfilment. And…" She shot her friends a sly grin, "who knows, perhaps I can make room for a certain shaggy blonde boy in my life." The girls squealed with laughter at her statement and proceeded onto asking her more inappropriate questions – not that they were looking for answers, but they wanted to see their friend blush.

* * *

"So she is smarter than you." Zoicite turned to his blonde brother and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Shut up Jadeite, that's not what I said." Kunzite laughed.

"And what did you mean brother?" Nephrite grinned.

"I said she's as equally smart as I am."

"If not more." Mamoru added.

"I didn't say that!" Zoicite's voice was getting higher from exasperation. "She's really smart, yes, but we are on equal footing!"

"And…" Jadeite prompted.

"And…what?"

"Have you guys… kissed?" Nephrite asked.

"No. I have a problem." Four pairs of eyes turned to him as his expression turned serious. "Ami is seriously shy like… to the point where I don't know how to make my moves more prominent."

"Wait… she doesn't get that you're coming onto her?"

"No. It's not like you and Makoto who seem to know that you're both interested in each other. Ami seriously thinks that we're just friends having a good time." Mamoru thought carefully as he chewed his steak. He swished some wine in his mouth after swallowing and proceeded to adding his two cents.

"I know Ami, she's Usako's friend." Zoicite turned with hope in his eyes. "She wouldn't be talking to you this much if she didn't feel something for you."

"So she's interested?" Mamoru didn't want to extinguish the flame of hope in his friend's eyes, but he had to be honest.

"I don't know Zoi. She's always friendly with everyone she meets. But it is curious that she would choose to spend time with you in the library considering how much she values her study time. I doubt she gets much of that at home."

"So I should go for it?"

"I would ask her first if she has a boyfriend. Last I knew she was dating someone named Greg." Zoicite's crestfallen expression made Mamoru feel guilty for sharing this information. "They might have broken up. He was really interested in going to the States and even asked me to help him look at some universities."

"Oh."

"Zoi, Ami is a really special girl. She's always been a bit different from the girls, she has a really low self-esteem and hides behind her books because she thinks that's all she's good at."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I think what our friend is trying to say is that he doesn't want you to hurt her." Nephrite spoke softly, treading carefully on the newly created tension.

"Zoi… Ami's my friend. She's a really good girl and…well she deserves the best."

"You don't think I'm the best."

"That's not what Dymi means, and you know it." Kunzite said.

"What everyone's trying to say is that in the past you haven't been exactly courteous toward women, none of us with the exception of Dymi have been. We have a reputation and Dymi is saying that you have to let go of your old tactics of getting women to sleep with you, go out with them for a bit and then get bored."

"How's that any worse to what you and Kunzite do? Nephrite is the only one who seems to stay in stable relationships; you and Kunzite go from girl to girl without a care in the world."

"The way we treat women isn't the topic at hand." Kunzite interjected. "What we're trying to say is that if you start a relationship with this Ami girl, you have to see it through."

"Marriage?" Zoice exclaimed.

"Not marriage brother." Nephrite sighed.

"Zoi, what I'm trying to say is that you can't get bored with Ami that early on in the relationship. You'll crush her."

"First of all, what makes you think I'm going to get bored of her? And second, why do you speak on Ami's behalf? She's a lot stronger than you think."

"Zoicite, your track record with women doesn't exactly show promise with any of your future relationships. And I've known Ami longer."

"This is bullshit!" His temper was infamous within the group and no one wanted to have it flare up in the restaurant. "Dymi, I might actually really care for this girl and you're just telling me not to go for it."

"That's not what I said! I said, just be careful!"

"Of what?"

"Of not treating her like the other girls you've been with. Yes Kunzite and Jadeite do seem to get around but they never promise the girls they're with a relationship like you do. You conflate sleeping around with relationships."

"I'm not going to do that to Ami." Dymi sighed.

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear."

"Well I have news to report. I don't know whether Makoto likes me for me, or whether she just likes me charm and sex appeal." Nephrite tried to alleviate the tension with humour and it worked; four pairs of eyes turned to him.

"Why do you think that?" Jadeite pressed hoping that Zoicite and Mamoru would focus on something other than their argument.

"You see…"

* * *

"So you leave chocolates for him in the mail box and he leaves…"

"He leaves poetry."

"Pretty boy writes?"

"Rei!" The brunette scolded.

"What? It was an honest question!"

"Well, no need to sound so condescending. He's not stupid."

"How would you know? Have you ever had a normal conversation with him?" Makoto stopped to think about Rei's words.

"I'm sure there's more to this relationship-type-thing than pure physical attraction." Mina pointed out. Makoto stopped drinking and turned to her friend.

"No… come to think about it, his poetry is always about my beauty. I know nothing about him."

"Those are the best kind of relationships." Mina grinned.

"Mina!" Ami admonished. "Makoto, surely there is more to this relationship. Have you guys had a conversation?"

"No…" Makoto started to worry. She was really into Nephrite, but why? "I've never had a real conversation with him so how do I know he likes me for me?" Usagi could see the worry break out on her friend's face. "I mean… I have a lot of flaws! When I get angry I can beat my opponent up so bad they end up in hospital, or how about my height? I'm too tall for most guys! Also I love food! I love cooking it, eating it, talking about it – what if he doesn't like that about me? And…" Rei put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

"First of all, we all get angry and, while yes we can't beat up out opponents to a pulp, we can do other things. Remember when I found out Greg was being a douche to Ami? I nearly burned down his house. Secondly, your height is not an issue here, believe me. He's tall enough to make you look like a midget. Thirdly look at Usagi – she loves food too, and only the bad aspects of it – eating it – and she still finds loads of guys. Mako, believe me, if someone takes one look at you they won't even think that you love eating food – you've got too much of a good body for that."

"But…" While some of her worry had faded away, there was still some doubt clouding her beautiful features.

"But what? You think he likes you just because you're beautiful? Guys think that women like being complimented on their beauty – it's an insult to them if they don't. Mako, when someone gets to know you, they won't be looking just at your beauty, believe me. You have so many positive attributes, being beautiful is only one of them."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or a diss." Usagi laughed.

"I think what Rei is trying to say is that you're beautiful but have many other attributes that make you beautiful on the inside as well."

"So…"

"So I think you should slip in a piece of paper in your next batch of chocolates specifying a day and time for a date."

"Oh thank you Venus, what would I do without your guidance?" Makoto wiped a fake tear away from her eye.

"You mock, but it's worked before!" Makoto stared at her.

"Wait…you've asked guys out before?" Mina shrugged her shoulders.

"But…but…the guy has to make the first move." Rei and Mina turned to Usagi.

"What do you mean it's the guy's move? Hello Princess, stop being so naïve! We live in the 21st century where women have almost as many rights as men."

"Sure we can't pee standing up but we are equal to them in almost every other way."

"Well…that's people say anyway." Ami chimed in. Rei turned to stare at her friend before turning back to Usagi.

"Usa…you've never asked a guy out?" Usagi shook her head.

"Well, aside from chasing after Mamoru during that period where we were broken up…I never actually asked him out. I just wanted him to take me back."

"Jeesh woman, you have it so easy!" Rei huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face not bothering to tuck it behind her ear.

"Ok…back to me now! We've established that Usa hasn't asked anyone out ever. Mina, Rei, you guys have. Ami… well you barely ask us for anything so I doubt you've asked someone on a date – no offense." Her friend smiled her.

"You're right. And none taken." Makoto continued,

"And I've never asked someone out before either so… how does it work?" Mina and Rei stared at each and seemed to be locked into an unspoken conversation. A few seconds later they turned to Makoto.

"We have accepted to train you into how to ask someone out." Usage laugh died down after Rei gave her an icy glare.

"First of all, you have to make sure that he's really into you." The raven-haired beauty nodded.

"Which, we've established, he is since someone who is not interested in you would not take their time to write poetry." Rei followed.

"Secondly, you have to think of a crafty way to do so in order to come off as…"

"Not a whiny stalker?" Usagi offered. The two relationship advisors nodded in agreement.

"Whiny stalker." Mina repeated. "You have to come off as cool, suave and sophisticated. Like asking him out on a date is something you both really want (which I'm sure you both do) but you have to make it seem like it was his idea." Makoto started to worry again.

"Can't I just tell him 'you me Friday dinner' and be done with?" Rei and Mina looked horrified at the prospect of Makoto being so forward and blunt.

"NO!" Ami giggled at her two friends outburst.

"Makoto, our two friends are trying to teach you an art!" The tall senshi grinned.

"But it's too much work!" She took out her phone and punched in something before the girls heard the beep that signalled a message was sent.

"Please…" Rei started but couldn't finish.

"Don't…" Mina tried to continue but her voice also faltered.

"I think what our love experts are trying to say is… 'please don't tell us you sent him a message'". The two girls just nodded and Makoto laughed.

"Of course! I asked him whether he would want to come with me on Friday to this new restaurant I found and have been meaning to try out." Usagi turned to her friend aghast.

"What? What about us? We're your best friends…we saved the world together and you didn't think of us to go with you to a restaurant?"

"Relax Usa, I'll take you guys another time, I promise."

"But we were your guinea pigs in these situations."

"Now she's found another pig." Ami said with a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Shut it Ami. When did you become so lippy?" Ami just laughed and leaned back to pick up her book.

"Now that we have me sorted I want to know about Rei!" The girls all turned to their ebony-haired friend expecting juicy details.

"There's not much to say…" She started, but the girls protested.

* * *

"So what do you guys think?"

"You write poetry?" Jadeite asked suspiciously. "Who taught you? When did you start?"

"Really, out of the whole story that's what you get? I wanna know why he didn't share these amazing chocolates." Jadeite turned to his youngest brother.

"Zoi, you don't even like chocolate."

"I know…it makes me fat…but it would have still been kind of him to offer." Mamoru laughed.

"Nephrite do you like Makoto or not? I mean, from what I understand you just really like her looks."

"You're a right kill joy tonight aren't you?" Zoicite said in all humour burying the hatchet of their previous argument.

"Dymi, I think I actually like her for who she is. We've had a couple of conversations and spoke through texts on occasion and she seems really cool." Mamoru thought about telling him who Makoto really was but decided against it. She could act like a real lady but in truth she was a tomboy whose passionate temper could get the better of her. "She doesn't seem like other girls who don't know how to live. Sure…she talks a lot about food but who doesn't like food? And she can sometimes be very abrasive and I can kind of tell she has a temper cause when I was walking her to the bus stop one morning she saw a couple of kids taunting a homeless man and I could see her clenching her fists, almost as if she wanted to hit them, but she didn't. Instead she told them off calmly and gave the man some money and her bento lunch box." Mamoru inwardly smiled – if Nephrite hadn't been in there the boys would have surely ended up in the hospital.

"So ask her out on a date." Zoicite said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"But what if she rejects me?" Kunzite laughed but didn't say anything.

"What do you mean with that laugh brother?" Kunzite just smiled at his brother and continued eating.

"I think she likes you. Who would spend their precious time making chocolates for some guy she's not even into?" Zoicite pointed out. Before Nephrite could respond, his phone beeped.

"It's from her!" He looked so excited when he saw her name that the other boys had to smile at his giddiness. "Hey…she asked me out." Jadeite burst out laughing.

"I think she's into you bro!" Mamoru grinned.

"So what does the message say?" Nephrite put his phone back into his pocket.

"She says that there's new restaurant she wants to try out and if I could join her if I wanted."

"Duh! Say yes!"

"Brother, I already did!" He flashed his youngest brother a triumphant grin.

"So… that's me cleared. What about Jadeite? Who's this Kai person?" Jadeite grinned.

"She's this girl I met at university." Nephrite looked shocked.

"Wait what…? That girl goes to university?" Zoicite laughed.

"She's dumber than…Mamoru what's the idiom?"

"She's not dumb!" Jadeite protested before their friend could reply.

"As much as I want to agree with you, since she is VERY good looking, she is pretty stupid. I told her that you were half French, which explains your exotic look, and she asked where in Japan that was."

"Ok… so maybe geography isn't her strong point. I remember someone thinking that Edinburgh was in Australia!" Jadeite failed to mention that he had told Kai he was from Paris and when she didn't say anything he assumed she knew where that was.

"First of all, brother, I was ten and had never been to Europe until we came to see you. Secondly, geography may not be her strong suit but that still doesn't explain why she was trying to convince me that world war two was just a conspiracy for Americans to make the Japanese seem like 'the bad guys'."

"I'm surprised she even knew about world war two." Jadeite went to defend his sort of girlfriend when Nephrite laughed.

"Aha. She thinks world war two was a war between Japan and America in Pearl Harbour. See, ask her about Nazis and Hitler, she won't be able to tell you diddly-squat. She just saw some film and thinks she's an expert on it." Zoicite looked at his half-brother in disbelief.

"Seriously, what do you guys talk about?"

"They don't. You can hear them not talking through the walls." Jadeite gave his friend a sheepish grin.

"Kai can be kind of loud…"

"I know." Zoicite groaned.

"Come on Jed, why can't you pick someone normal. It's not like you to stick to one girl."

"But she's really pretty and good at the not-talking stuff. I've had a girlfriend with a meaningful relationship and turns out she was just after my money and status so…"

"So you decide to date a walking, talking doll?"

"We have a good time and it's easy being with her. I just sit there listening to her go on about what she did during the day then we watch a film and then we go to sleep."

"I hope that makes you happy." Mamoru said not believing for a minute that Jadeite was truly happy.

"What about the fifth neighbour? She's gorgeous and really smart!" Jadeite snapped to look at his twin.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… she seems to be a female version of you except she's not a man-whore…or any kind of whore." Jadeite grinned.

"What do you mean she's like me?" Nephrite thought for a few seconds before he replied.

"Well, when one looks at you they think class and elegance – sophistication if you will. Unfortunately, the rest of us don't exude that kind of sophistication – I think it's your French roots. When one looks at Rei, that's her name by the way, they also see class and elegance. She can make anything she wears look like it belongs in a fashion magazine. Sure she doesn't have Kai's voluptuous body type, but she has a good, if not better body than Kai. You're both really intelligent and hard working. A bit mysterious – I've met her in the hall a couple of times and there is always an air of mystery around her. She'd be perfect for you."

"Because we're similar?"

"No, because I think she would challenge you. Zoi has Ami to challenge him academically. Usagi and Mamoru have that whole history. Kunzite and Mina have to get past their night-time activities and take a real good look at what they want from each other. I have Makoto who makes it a challenge trying to figure out the real her. Rei…I think she'd be good for you." Jadeite scoffed.

"First of all, I can do better than her. Imagine, a politician with an art major – my degree is actually challenging, hers is just… a hobby. Secondly, I don't need you guys to play matchmaker." Mamoru gave him a knowing smile – Jadeite could sound like the most pompous ass ever without realising it.

"Rei isn't stupid. She works alongside her degree – while her degree isn't as challenging as any of our degrees, it doesn't mean that she's stupid. She's in the top of her class and she's as smart as any of us here she just chose to do what she loves. She does her job so well that people are trying to get her to go work for them and practically throw money at her. Don't be so arrogant as to think you're smarter than her – Rei has many hidden talents." One of them was being able to set their apartment on fire with a flick of her wrist if Jadeite got on her wrong side.

"Whatever. Point is, I'm happy with Kai and she's here to stay." The boys just shrugged and let Jadeite believe in his delusion that he was happy with a girl who posed no challenge and had no wit.

* * *

"So no more professor huh?" Usagi sounded a bit sad but Rei narrowed her eyes cause she understood the reason behind her sadness.

"Usagi, I'm not going to date a professor just so you can get good grades." Usagi sniffled as she picked another mini quiche.

"But I liked getting really good grades with practically no effort." Rei scoffed and drank some more of her drink. By now the girls were on their third drink and Usagi had ran out of ice so she was drinking a warm honey glazed cognac in a brandy snifter while the rest of the girls were drinking spiced mulled wine.

"What about Jadeite?" Mina quipped; the four girls had spoken about Jadeite and Rei behind their friend's back thinking that the match would be perfect.

"The French fruitcake?" Usagi giggled.

"Why do you call him that?" Rei grinned.

"He's dating that girl who's not exactly the brightest tool in the shed."

"She can't be that stupid." Mina stressed.

"Oh but she is. Aside from wanting to return borrowed milk, which if you are going to return borrowed milk at least tell me you'll buy me a new carton, not return the milk…" The girls looked confused at Rei's ramblings. "…I met her downstairs and I was holding the new leaflet from our art gallery and it had the Mona Lisa on the front…the MONA LISA which is a universally known painting by the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci, even Usagi who hates art knows this! She takes one look at it and tells me how gorgeous Scarlet Johansen is. SCARLET JOHANSEN!"

"I am a little confused…" Ami eyes burrowed in confusion.

"You should be a LOT confused. It took me ages to understand two things: a) she confused the paintings; she thought I was holding Vermeer's 'The Girl With The Pearl Earring' which hello, I wasn't! and b) she couldn't even tell that this work of art – both works of art – apart from a crappy movie!"

"Hey, the movie was actually really good!" Mina pointed out.

"The painting, and the TRUE story behind it, is much better. You just like Colin Firth." Rei snapped.

"Ok Rei, so she's not an art aficionado… that doesn't mean she's stupid. If I wasn't friends with you, I wouldn't know half the paintings I know."

"Usa, it's a pretty big deal if you can't tell you Vermeer from your Da Vinci and it gets even worse when you can't tell what a fricking movie is based on!"

"Do you have anything else against the girl?" Ami asked quietly.

"Perhaps a little resentment for dating the boy next door?" Makoto winked. Rei's dry laugh surprised them.

"I'm not jealous of her. Hell, I know I'm prettier than she is and I can get any guy I want."

"Good to know you've retained your humility." Mina pointed out in a sarcastic tone.

"Mina, really? We're going to do this now? Yes, I know I've changed since we were at school but it's for the better."

"Yeah it is." Usagi pointed out. "You don't scream hurtful things at me anymore." Rei's eyes dropped in embarrassment.

"Usagi, I'm really sorry for how I treated you in school." Usagi brushed her off with a wave of her hand.

"Don't think about it. I was horribly irresponsible in school too! I deserved most of the flack you gave me."

"No you didn't. That's partly why I changed."

"Rei, you didn't just change the way you treated Usagi, you did a whole 180!" Rei's eyes dropped again. A moment of silence followed before she spoke again.

"I didn't tell you this but…my dad got married again right before we left." Mina leaned in closer to Rei and put a comforting arm around her; the girls knew about Rei's relationship with her dad and how much grief he had caused her over the years. "Obviously I wasn't invited…at first. Turns out his new wife didn't want me at the wedding in case I ruined it with me 'attitude' and she didn't want me to outshine her own daughter. Father had to invite me though because it was election year and he had to paint the picture of a perfect family."

"Rei, why didn't you tell us?"

"I debated telling you so that you could come to the wedding, but I knew my dad would never allow it. But after the wedding I realised that I was a spoilt girl who thought too much of herself and who treated you horribly."

"I was pretty horrible and weak myself. I couldn't defeat a youma on my own without crying." Rei's expression turned fierce.

"Don't ever say that again. Sailor Moon was a pacifist and preferred to deal with issues through healing the anger and hate…not fighting. You didn't do that because you were weak. In fact you were stronger than any of us. It takes so much more power and so much effort to heal than to fight and you did that every chance you got. You sacrificed yourself time and time again to make the world a better place and look at what you've accomplished! The world can literally go on turning because of you." Usagi smiled at her best friend.

"I think you give me too much praise… I wouldn't be able to do anything that I've done without you guys. It may not seem like it, but every time you yelled at me or called me a crybaby it gave me the perseverance to continue and to change. Without you I wouldn't be the me I am today. I've told you before Rei, my transformation wasn't just due to me…all of you helped."

"But you forgive me? I never asked for your forgiveness before but I think I need it."

"I think it's the alcohol talking – you don't have a need to ask me for forgiveness but since you have, I do forgive you. I love you guys and you've given up everything to be with me." Rei smiled and the other followed suit.

"If my legs weren't all tingly from sitting in this position for so long, I would have proposed a group hug." Usagi sounded so forlorn which made the rest of the girls bellow with laughter. She looked at them all laughing and couldn't help but smile – these were her friends, her family, and she would do anything to protect them. If any of the guys next door hurt her friends like they did in the past, she would kill them one by one in the most painful way possible.

"So, who's up for a little DDR?" Mina proposed after the laughter died down.

The rest of the evening was passed laughing and playing video games – well Mina and Usagi played video games, Rei and Makoto were painting each other's nails and Ami was reading her book. The girls were so different from one another but that's what made them work as a group. They drew strength from Jupiter, love from Venus, optimism from Mercury, fire from Mars and hope from the Princess – hope that their future was going to be everything they wanted and more.

Meanwhile the boys continued talking about the girls next door and various other things that came to them. Mamoru looked at his friends and smiled sadly – if they ever found out about their past-past and present-past lives, it could potentially shatter the dynamics of their friendship. He didn't know why the only memories that came back to them was the fact that they served in his army… he dreaded the day they would find out about their betrayal to him. He was also confused as to why they didn't get their memories from their past relationship back; little did he know that they knew all about their past relationships but they couldn't make the connection between the senshis and their present day reincarnations.

* * *

A/N:

I know it's a REALLY long chapter and it's mostly just chit chat but I want you to get the feel of the characters.

Did you guys like it?

About Rei – I LOVE her, she's my favourite senshi because in my mind I've made her atone for everything she did to Usagi. I HATE the way the anime portrayed her so in my mind I kept making excuses for her and blame her father (hello Freud!).

Here are my thanks!

**Tryntee13 : **Haha! Yes they do – but I really like the idea of Usagi wanting to be independent. I love her and Mamoru together (my God do I love the pair) but I need them to understand that their love is pure and they're both in the relationship because they want to be. I want it to be fun and understanding. Which is why they will have to go through one big trial. Coming up in the chapters ahead.

**A: **I still laugh at your penname. Haha! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. I know it didn't have much juice in it but I wanted to show the dynamics of their friendship and show their character. Of course, I don't know how effectively I executed those plans.

**Isis Aurora Tomoe: **Mina/Kunzite coming up! Haha. I love the fact that they're both leaders of their group and I am trying to find a way to work it in there.

**Sage McGavin: **Glad to hear! What do you think of the story so far?

**Jo: **Haha! I am so glad you like it and I love your enthusiasm (and the fact that you reviewed all my chapters in one reading) ;)) I hope you like this chapter too. No much juice can be extrapolated from this chapter but I enjoyed writing it nonetheless.

**To everyone who favourited/followed/alerted THANK YOU! **

**Have a GREAT day/weekend/month/year ;))**

**AuroraFireMadness**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Date Night Ends Well For Some, Badly For Others

Usagi whistled as she cleaned the kitchen counters. For once she wasn't pissed off at Makoto for making her clean the kitchen since her best friend was going out on a date with the next door neighbour.

"Hey Usagi, whatcha doin'?" Rei sang as she came into the kitchen, knowing that her friend had been assigned the arduous task of cleaning up the kitchen. Her blonde friend growled in response and went back to scrubbing the counters.

"Now you know how hard it is to keep this place clean." Makoto laughed as she walked into the kitchen. Both her friends stopped what they were doing, Usagi cleaning and Rei was in the process of making tea, to stare at their friend with their mouths open. Makoto's eyes widened in fear, "What? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?"

"Mako…you look gorgeous!" Usagi breathed. Rei nodded. Before she could say anything, their other blonde friend entered the kitchen and was about to speak when she saw her tall friend dressed to the nines.

"Mako! Oh my God! You look so pretty!" She squealed. "I knew that shade of lipstick was going to be perfect on you!" Makoto laughed. Ami walked into the kitchen to see what the commotion was about and stopped dead in her tracks to look at her best friend – she knew that Makoto was pretty but today she was radiant. She paid her compliments to her friend and received a smile in response.

Makoto grinned as she checked herself out in the window – it was already dark outside and the wall-window served as a great mirror. She had to admit that she loved getting dressed up; her long hair hung was pulled back into a high ponytail with a few loose strands framing her beautiful heart faced face. She wore a beautiful forest green maxi dress and matching green flats (she could have potentially worn heels since Nephrite was tall enough, but she had grown accustomed to flats over the years). She had put a hint of blush on her cheeks and lined her eyes in pink eyeshadow which blended slowly into black making her eyes stand out. She matched her outfit with her signature rose earrings.

"I have the perfect addition to that outfit, wait here!" Mina rushed into her room and came back moments later holding a simple gold chain with a beautiful pink jewel drop in the middle. She helped her friend put it on and let the rest of the girls admire her.

"It's beautiful, thanks Mina!" Mina shrugged off her friend's appreciation and walked her to the door.

"Shouldn't we be waiting for him to knock on the door with flowers?" Rei asked and as if on cue a knock was heard on the door. Rei grinned. "Tomorrow I am going to win a million dollars." Makoto laughed as she walked to the door and wasn't that surprised to see Nephrite holding a bouquet of mixed flowers. His breath hitched in his throat when he saw his beautiful date but shrugged it off so that he could speak.

"Hi." He gave a sheepish grin. "I didn't know what flowers you liked so… I got you a mix." He gave the bouquet to her and Makoto inhaled the fragrance with a smile on her lips.

"I love all kinds of flowers. Thanks." Rei came up silently behind her and offered to take the flowers and put them in a vase. Nephrite made a mental note of what Makoto just told him before offering his hand.

"Shall we go?" Makoto giggled.

"Sure."

"HAVE HER BACK BY MIDNIGHT OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!" Mina yelled from the living room. Makoto tried to shut the door but Nephrite still heard it.

"Protective friends are the worst." Makoto laughed. He couldn't help but grin.

"Well, be sure to warn them if we're late won't you? I really do not want to feel Minako's wrath." Makoto just laughed again and walked with him to his car.

* * *

"Don't you also have a date tonight?" Usagi turned to her priestess-friend who shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's not for another hour and a half. We're just meeting up for drinks."

"You should start getting ready." Mina prompted. Rei pointed to her wet hair.

"I'm already showered. All I have to do is my hair, makeup and dress." Usagi grinned.

"Mina and I shall help." Before Rei could protest they practically carried her to Mina's room which was like a salon with an assortment of hair products, makeup and clothes to fit every occasion.

"How do you accumulate so much crap?" Rei mused as she picked up a cosmetics bag filled solely with different coloured eyeliners. Mina, who was in the process of drying her friend's hair, sighed.

"It's not crap Rei! Mum and Dad are constantly sending me clothes from England – the perks of having guilt-ridden parents who work in the fashion industry." She gave an exaggerated wink to her friend but Rei could see her pain – they were both in the same situation where their parents were absent for most of their lives.

"What about this?" Usagi's voice broke her thoughts and Rei, to Mina's frustration, turned to see what outfit Usagi decided to present.

"Rei!" She whined as she guided Rei's head to look forward.

"Too short." Usagi sighed.

"Mina, tell her this dress is gorgeous!" Mina glanced behind her and grinned.

"Rei, you're wearing that dress. You have amazing legs, why not show them off?"

"Hello, I'm a priestess of the shrine…" Usagi tutted.

"A priestess who broke her chastity vows a long time ago might I add." Rei stared at her from the mirror.

"I didn't take a chastity vow while I was a priestess." She stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Don't move!" Mina growled as she tried to keep Rei's head in place.

"I'll start on her makeup." The girls prodded and primped Rei until the very last minute – her two friends were quite exhausted by the end but the raven-haired girl was feeling quite content. She got up and struck a dramatic pose, in humour, to show off her friends' work. At that moment Ami had decided to come in and see how the preparations were coming along.

"Rei! You look so beautiful!" Mina laughed.

"Thanks to us." She pointed to Usagi before lifting her hand for a high-five.

Rei stared at herself in Mina's full-length mirror and had to admit that she did indeed look beautiful, moreso than usual. The dress Usagi had chosen was a blood red bubble dress that came to a couple of inches above her knees – the dress hugged her form really well. She wore matching matt-red four inch stilettoes. Mina fetched some rose blushed pearls Rei's father had given her as a present on her 18th birthday and wrapped them twice around the girl's slender neck. Usagi wove an intricate red ribbon in the girl's hair giving her a unique hairstyle. Overall, she looked like she was ready to go out for a fun night with her date.

"Where are you going?" Ami asked.

"To this new bar called 'Tapas'". Usagi looked at her confused.

"Isn't that a food?" Rei turned to her friend and smiled.

"Yeah, Spanish starter dishes. They also serve tapas at the restaurant."

"You're underage, how are you going to get a drink?" Rei winked at her.

"Please tell me you didn't lie to your date about your age!"

"No! But Tapas is a student friendly environment. Come on Mina, like you've never gotten drinks at a club before." Mina raised her eyebrow.

"I've never bought them, no. They usually offer them to me." Usagi laughed before looking at her watch and gasping.

"Rei you have to leave!" Rei looked at her watch and smiled.

"Great, now I'm turning into you two!" She smiled at her friend's sticking their tongue out at her before giving herself a look-over in Mina's mirror. "Sure I look good?" She asked her three friends for a final approval before they practically shoved her out the door where they met Jadeite returning with Kai.

"Rei!" Rei couldn't help but smile – the girl could be really stupid but she had a personality that was so bubbly and so outgoing that it burned right through her icy exterior.

"Hello Kai. Had a nice date?" She noted the formal clothing they were both dressed in. Kai looked up at Jadeite before turning to Rei.

"He took me to that new restaurant that opened downtown. He surprised me with a reservation!" She practically squealed the last part which had Rei laughing. She looked at the blonde haired man to see his reaction but he was just staring at her with a stoic expression.

"Well, I'm going to be late for my date so…" Kai let go of Jadeite's hand and hugged Rei.

"We should meet up sometime and definitely talk about your fashion sense! I love it!" Rei turned to her best friends who were peering like the nosy gossipers they were through an open crack in the door.

She laughed, "The outfit belongs to my best friend."

"Viviane Westwood?" Damn, the girl knew her designers.

"Yeah. My friend's mum works in the fashion industry in the UK."

"I guess I have to meet this girl!" Kai laughed jokingly

"Well, I'll organise drinks sometime." Rei waved as she walked to the elevator while cursing her new friend's date. _What, he thinks he's better than me and refuses to speak to me? Bastard! _The elevator doors pinged open and she walked in. _And what about his girlfriend? I never get along with people like that. Hm… she's nice enough but what kind of substantial conversation can one have with her? _Before Rei could reply to herself the elevator doors opened and she was met with a gust of wind – someone had forgotten to close the communal door and the whole ground floor was like an ice-box. She clutched her coat closer to her body and tried to warm her legs up by walking faster but, in her haste, she bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" She looked up to see a man about thirty years old smiling down at her holding a box that looked really heavy.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there – my brother and I are moving into the apartment on the third floor and…well…" He glanced at the entrance sheepishly where about a dozen boxes propped the doors open.

"It's fine, really. I wasn't really looking where I was going." The man grinned at her.

"Pleased to meet you…" The man waited for her to say her name. Rei smiled.

"Rei…Rei Hino." She looked at him expectantly waiting for him to say his name.

"I'm Zach. I would shake your hand but…" He glanced at the heavy box in his arms.

"OI ZACH! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Another man, presumably his brother, had walked in and Rei found herself staring. The man was younger than his brother, had black, shoulder length wavy hair which was currently tied in a ponytail, a strong, firm jawline, a very muscled torso and was clad in a black leather jacket, a white fitted t-shirt, loose jeans and combat boots. He wasn't the type Rei usually went for but for some reason she couldn't stop staring until Zach's voice brought her back to reality.

"And this is my younger brother, Jack." He grinned at Rei's obvious staring. Jack turned to Rei and flashed her a smile that instantly warmed her up.

"Pleased to meet you Rei." Rei was so busy staring that she didn't realise Zach had already introduced her to him. She shook the gorgeous man's outstretched hand and mumbled an apology about being late before walking toward the door.

"You should come to our party in two days time." Jack yelled. Rei turned and smiled, she didn't say anything, and walked out the door hoping that the cold air would bring her cheeks back to their normal temperature.

* * *

Upstairs, Usagi and Mina were arguing over what film to watch while Ami was busy finishing a paper that was probably due the next month.

"I want to watch Keanu Reeves." Usagi whined.

"And I want to watch Colin Firth!" Mina thrust the DVD she was holding into Usagi's outstretched hand but the blonde girl wouldn't take it.

"Usaaaaaa."

"Miiiiiinaaaaaa." Usagi whined back. Ami looked up with a tired expression on her face.

"Girls! Please! I'm trying to work." The two blondes turned to their best friend and frowned.

"Ames, isn't that due like in two weeks' time?" Ami shrugged.

"So what?" Before she could elaborate the doorbell rang. Mina and Usagi rushed to door leaving their friend to shake her head in exasperation.

"Hello!" Ami's back straightened from her slouched position over her laptop when she heard Zoicite's melodious voice floating through the door.

"Hello Zoicite!" Mina said, a bit louder than normal. Ami winced – Zoicite would surely think something was up.

"I was just wondering whether I could find refuge here. I was going to go to the library but…I'm too lazy and my brother's new girlfriend is really loud and she likes laughing!" Usagi laughed.

"Come on in Zoicite, we were just about to watch 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'". Ami heard the door close and three pairs of footsteps walk toward the living room. She debated checking herself out in her laptop screen but decided against it – it just wasn't her to care about her looks just for some guy.

"No…we were about to watch the King's Speech." She heard Mina growl.

"The Day The Earth Stood Still." Ami heard the distinct thud of Usagi literally putting her foot down.

"Why don't we watch when Harry Met Sally?" By the time Zoicite spoke they had already made it to the living room and his suggestion made the two girls look at him with a horrified expression on their face.

"Meg Ryan isn't allowed in this house." Zoicite looked confused.

"How come?" Before the girls could reply he spotted Ami sitting on the couch and his expression turned from confused to joyful. "Ami!" Ami gave a small laugh at his exuberance and picked her laptop off her lap and placed it next to her so she could get up and greet him.

"Hello Zoicite! Come to join us?" The boy held up a plastic bag he was holding.

"I brought munchies to persuade you but turns out I didn't need any ammo. The girls let me in." He pointed to the two girls on either side of him who were now staring at the plastic bag he was holding.

"You know Zoicite, it's always polite to bring something over when you visit a house for the first time and those munchies look really good!" Zoicite laughed at the girl's greedy expression. He turned to see Mina sporting a similar look to her best friend. Ami, on the other hand, sighed at her friends' gluttony.

"Here you go." He smiled as he passed the plastic bag to Usagi who proceeded onto getting all the munchies on the couch and her calling dibs on everything but the dried fruit.

"Ami can have the dried fruit." Usagi nodded in agreement.

"I'm scared that if I eat anything healthy it's going to shock my body." Zoicite couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"It's true. Once, Mako cooked completely healthily and Usagi was sick the next day." Zoicite turned to Ami for an explanation.

"Usagi thinks it was the vegetables. Science says it's her going out in minus 5 degrees with wet hair, and a really thin jumper."

"Oh ok." The boy couldn't think of anything else to say just that his friend was in love with a weird girl.

"Zoicite, since you're the guest, you get to pick the film but no romantic comedies." Zoicite looked confused so Mina elaborated.

"We save romantic comedies slash romance films for when one of us breaks up with someone. We buy a litre of ice cream and just scream at the television saying that this doesn't happen in real life."

"It's very therapeutic." Usagi added.

"That's um… healthy." Zoicite didn't know what to say to this. Mina noticed his expression and laughed.

"We're five girls living under one roof and we're closer than sisters. When one of us hurts, the rest of us hurt. After like the third breakup you just want to watch these kind of films and see what you're doing wrong. After you see that it's really all just bullshit, you kind of catch on that these films should not be used as an instruction manual." Ami noticed Zoicite's discomfort and tutted at Mina.

"Mina, stop ranting. He's the guest, he should pick whatever film he wants!" Usagi looked at Zoicite and sighed.

"Since you're the guest, you also get to pick the pizza we're going to order." Mina and Ami looked happy for some reason while Zoicite just looked shocked.

"More food?" He glanced at the little mountain of munchies he had brought over which apparently was not enough for the petit blonde.

"Usagi likes her food." Ami explained.

"Yeah, the rest of us don't like what she orders though so make sure you pick a good pizza." Mina warned. Zoicite suddenly felt like he was under a lot of pressure.

"How about pepperoni with anchovies and extra cheese?" He said after thinking about it very carefully. Usagi pumped a fist into the air while the other two girls looked upset. "I said something wrong, didn't I?" He looked at Ami with a worried look on his face.

"We all hate anchovies with pepperoni but apparently you and Usagi have the same taste." Zoicite mistook Ami's disgust and searched frantically for the right words to say.

"No no… we don't have similar tastes. In fact I hate pepperoni and anchovies. Usagi and I aren't…we…" Ami looked confused before she realised that Zoicite mistook her disgust for jealousy.

"Zoicite, calm down." She put a hand on his shoulder and grinned. "Mina and I will order a smaller pizza with toppings we like. You and Usa can eat the same pizza and I will not think anything of it." Zoicite breathed a sigh of relief as Usagi picked up the phone and gave her order.

"Yes, hello….delivery please…yes that's right…ok well we'd like two extra large pepperoni, anchovies and extra cheese pizzas with a thin crust and 1 medium margarita please…mhm…mhm…mhm…ok thanks!" Usagi shut the phone and turned to see a confused Zoicite.

"Oh er… I don't eat a lot of pizza – carbs aren't exactly all that good for you – so you didn't have to order an extra large pizza for me."

"Relax Zoicite, anything you don't eat, I'll eat." The boy stepped back and took a good look at her, disbelief written all over his face. He decided not to pursue the matter and followed Ami to the couch.

"Movie?" Ami made the mistake of asking the guest who suddenly had two DVD cases shoved in front of his face by Mina and Usagi. Ami cleared her throat as a warning but her friends didn't get the meaning so she pushed the cases away from their guest's face.

"Zoicite, why don't I show you those books you wanted to borrow from the library? I finished them and, if you want, you can borrow them." Zoicite followed Ami to her room leaving behind two crestfallen blondes.

"Who's gonna be our tie breaker?" Usagi whined as the two left the living room.

"Ok Usa, we're going to play rock paper scissors and whoever wins gets to pick the movie."

"That's not fair!" Usagi whined again. "You know I always pick rock. I think of picking something else but I'm too late so my fist remains a rock." Mina grinned.

"Fine what about…" Before she could finish the doorbell rang. "We'll finish this later!" Mina narrowed her eyes as they both walked to the door. Mina opened the door to reveal Mamoru. She gave an embarrassed cough and relinquished control to Usagi who didn't hide behind the door fast enough when she saw who it was.

"Actually Mina, I want to talk to Ami." Usagi looked relieved while Mina looked confused.

"AMI! THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE DOOR FOR YOU!" Mina bellowed making Usagi and Mamoru cover their ears. Ami came rushing as soon as she heard her friend asking who it could be for her at this time. When she saw Mamoru standing in the doorway, she smiled.

"Mamoru! Hi! Come in." She shot her best friends a dirty look for not asking him to come in before while closing the door. Mamoru was about to speak when he saw Zoicite standing in the living room. Noticing his confused look, Zoicite explained,

"Jadeite and Kai are in the house." Mamoru nodded in understanding.

"Ah…I'll go back to the library then."

"Stay here." Usagi could have killed her best friends at that moment if she could but then she wouldn't have anyone to keep her company that night.

"Oh uh…" Mamoru looked from her friends to Usagi and back to her friends again. "I'll just go to the library and get some studying done."

"No no, we insist! Usagi has already ordered too much pizza anyway."

"No I didn't!" Usagi picked up the phone and instinctively ordered a medium meat feast stuffed crust pizza amending their previous order; Mina grinned at Usagi's instinct and the doting look Mamoru threw her didn't go unnoticed by either her or Ami and after she looked at their new guest, Zoicite either.

"Fine, if he stays, we're watching Keanu Reeves." Usagi threw the DVD onto the couch before heading for her room.

"Where are you going?" Mina called.

"Toilet. Do you want me to give you a report when I get back?" Usagi didn't wait for Mina to reply before sauntering off to her room.

"This is a really nice place." Mamoru noted as he looked around the place clearly impressed with how clean it was considering Mina and Uasgi lived here.

"Yeah well…Rei and Makoto chased me and Usagi with broomsticks the first month we were here because we kept leaving it messy so instead of leaving a mess and having to spar with two pretty strong girls, we opted for keeping the place clean." Mamoru's chuckle and Zoicite's sing-song laugh filled the room easing any previous tension.

"I guess we're watching the Keanu Reeves film." Mina popped the DVD into the player and paused the film waiting for Usagi to come back from the bathroom when the doorbell rang.

"WHAT THE HELL DO PEOPLE THINK THIS APARTMENT IS? TOKYO CENTRAL STATION?!" Usagi's voice sounded muffled through the closed the door. Mina and Ami laughed as Mina walked to the door.

"Hello!" Mina stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the guy standing outside their door. He was tall with a muscular physique, shaggy brown hair, warm green eyes and a really refined jaw.

"Hi." His smile made Mina's insides melt. "I know this isn't Tokyo Central Station but I was hoping that you would have some milk. My brother and I just moved in and all we have is cereal but no milk. I promise to buy you a carton tomorrow when I'm in a position to move from the fetal position on my couch!" Mina laughed before she welcomed the man in.

"Sure! I'll go get the milk. I'm Mina." She held out her hand which the man took.

"Zach." Mina went into the kitchen to fetch the milk leaving Zach to stand awkwardly in the little welcoming area before Ami greeted him.

"Hello." She smiled and introduced herself. He shook her hand and exchanged pleasantries with her until Mina came back with the milk.

"We've only got low fat milk…is that ok? Five girls live under this roof." Zach grinned.

"No problem, we'll just eat more cereal." He flashed her another one of prize-winning grins and it took all her self-control not to swoon. "Listen, we're having a housewarming party and you're all invited. We're going to put up a notice in the elevator, but since I'm here…" He trailed off.

"We?" He noticed Mina's apprehension and smiled.

"My brother and I. We live on the third floor." Mina nodded, her smile returning.

"We'll be there." Zach noticed the two boys who had come at some point during the conversation.

"Your boyfriends are also invited." He nodded toward the two boys. Mina immediately shook her head.

"Oh… they're not our boyfriends." Zach's smile widened.

"Well, they're welcome to come too." He and Mina exchanged a few more words before he left. Usagi walked into the welcoming area, confused.

"Who was that? And what did he say about a party?" Mina and Ami clued Usagi in on their new neighbours and proceeded onto going to the living room to watch the film. At some point during the movie, the delivery came and the boys insisted on paying for it which annoyed Usagi since she didn't want to be indebted to Mamoru. He didn't see it that way; he was just being chivalrous and a good guest to pay for the girls.

As the evening progressed, Zoicite was finding out a lot about Ami. She was the type of person who couldn't sit and watch a film without doing something else as she saw it to be a waste of time. During the film she was writing an essay on her laptop pausing every now and then to add a comment about the film's scientific inaccuracy making Mina and Usagi moan. She would also ask Mamoru for his opinion on what she had written since they were both aspiring doctors interested in viral fungi. By the end of the night Zoicite was unequivocally in love with the blue haired girl (he made a mental note to ask her about the unusual colour of her hair) and he vowed to get to know her better.

Meanwhile, the girl in question was proceeding very slowly with her essay since she kept stealing glances at the blonde haired man sitting on the couch next to her. She inwardly smiled as she took in every part of him – his mannerisms when he ate (he didn't use his hands like everyone else but instead asked for cutlery and cut up his food into small bites before eating); his laugh when Ami would point out inaccurate scientific facts; the way he looked at her when she would speak and she would feel that infuriating tug on her heart that signalled the beginning of a very serious crush. Ami was falling for the boy next door and she didn't know whether that was a good thing… she didn't know whether her heart could handle another heartbreak.

Mamoru noticed his two friends' indirect communication – Ami would keep stealing glances at his flatmate while the latter would take every opportunity to look at her when she spoke, leaving his gaze to linger a little longer than he should have. Mamoru, however, wasn't that interested in his friends' burgeoning relationship and instead focused on Usagi who had chosen to sit next to Ami despite the better view she would have sitting next to him. It made him sad to see her blatant rejection thinking of everything that had changed. During the film he noticed that, while Usagi had matured in other aspects, she still bore resemblance to the old Usagi who would moan and whine at Ami that she ruined the film with her 'sciency facts', she would also attack an extra large pizza with relish and ask for more, swoon every time the main characters would do something heroic and laugh with Mina when Ami would point out that they needed to read more factual books than fiction. She seemed like the old Usagi he fell in love with so long ago yet she was so changed! He made a promise to get to know the new Usagi and make her fall in love him again because his love for yet had yet to diminish.

Usagi had noticed Mamoru staring at her periodically throughout the film but she kept her gaze firmly set on the TV. Every now and then she would get a nudge from Ami who would write a message on her laptop screen – messages of comfort since her and Mina had noticed his staring – and Usagi would give her a small squeeze on the arm in return. She would also see Mina giving her comforting looks and, since they had gotten so good at communicating telepathically through staring, she could tell that Mina felt awkward sandwiched in between Zoicite and Mamoru – one was falling in love with their smart friend and the other was pining over his previous love.

All in all, the evening went by uneventful for the group as a whole but each individual person had learned a lot about themselves and what they wanted from their respective love-partners.

* * *

Nephrite thanked his lucky stars for the millionth time that night; Makoto was in the bathroom and he was thinking about the current situation of their date. The restaurant Makoto had picked was exquisite – the people at the door knew her for some reason and had given them the best table (Nephrite hoped that the maitre'd wasn't an old boyfriend who was still hung up on his date). He was starting to learn a lot of things about the girl that he first found weird but now found them endearing: for example, being the top student at her chef school the woman knew food, and she knew it well – she gave the waiter strict instructions on how the food was to be prepared which had the chef coming out in a storm to yell at her. He could see the twitch in her arm as the little robust man was yelling at her, but she didn't do anything and instead explained to him in a calm way that if it wasn't done her way then it wouldn't be any good; she told him to cook two dishes (and she would pay for them) and after he tried them both to send over the dish he thought was best. The chef personally delivered their dinner, with a gazillion apologies and got Makoto talking about the various dishes he was preparing and wanting to hear her opinion. Makoto, being the professional that she was (and, Nephrite thought, a really good date) told the chef to meet her for a coffee the next day where they would talk about his dishes in a strictly professional manner (the latter was more for her date than the chef). Nephrite was so glad Makoto turned out to be his neighbour and was glad that she was everything he was expecting and more. He grinned as the waiter laid out an assortment of deserts, everything was complimentary tonight from the head chef, and waited impatiently for his date to come back.

Meanwhile, Makoto was in the bathroom trying not hyperventilate. The night was going great except for the chef coming to yell at them but then he redeemed himself by apologising and by making sure that they were well taken care of. Nephrite was a true gentleman, he opened the car door for her, helped her into her seat, asked for her opinion on what wine to pick with the food and generally making conversation flow very easily. The tall senshi was currently hyperventilating because she usually did so when things were going well – she wasn't overly optimistic at the beginning of the date that Nephrite would be such a good date and such a good person. She leaned over the sink and stared in the mirror; sure she was pretty and tonight she looked even prettier than usual, but she felt that something was about to go horrible wrong. She tried to shake the feeling off and attribute it to nerves but usually her senses were quite spot on. She slapped her cheek a couple of times, to being herself back to normal, but failed and was about to leave the bathroom when her phone rang.

"What's wrong?" Wasn't Rei supposed to be on a date?

"Mako, I need you to come pick me up." Rei's voice was calm but there was an element of agitation in it.

"I'll be right there. Where are you?" Rei gave her the address before hanging up. Makoto stuffed her phone into her bag and walked toward their table where Nephrite was waiting for her tapping his foot impatiently. His frown turned into a smile when he saw her approaching.

"Makot…" Makoto related to him what Rei had asked as she looked furiously for a waiter to bring them the bill.

"So sorry to cut this date short but I have to go pick up my best friend."

"I'll take you."

"No…no…it's fine. I'll take a taxi from the corner." At Nephrite's insistence she accepted his offer of the car ride. When the waiter heard that they were leaving he brought the chef, and individual aluminium trays to put the desert in, to tell them that the dinner was on him and that he was holding Makoto to her promise. They exchanged phone numbers when the chef noticed Nephrite narrow his eyes at that moment and assured them both that he was happily married with two children. Makoto wasn't really paying much attention, for if she had she would have been over the moon to see how interested in her Nephrite was. After thanking the chef again for their dinner and for the take-away desert, Nephrite sped down small alleys to pick up his date's best friend – Makoto remained silent except when she told him to turn onto oncoming streets.

* * *

Rei stood in the alleyway waiting for her friend to arrive grimacing at the dirt on the floor. Somewhere between the discarded trash lay a young man, dressed impeccably well, face down and unconscious. Rei's mind flashbacked to their date.

/When her date saw her come out of the taxi he smiled but Rei could see that something was off – perhaps it was her intuition as priestess of grandpa's shrine but something inside her told her not to trust this guy.

"Hello Rei." He gave her a brief kiss on the cheek which lingered far too long as far as Rei was concerned. After a polite greeting back Rei and her date made into the bar. They talked about loads of things which assuaged Rei's fears; his parents where one of the gallery's most prominent patrons and he had met her the night of their big opening. She was glad the evening was putting her fears to rest because until that moment all she did was think about their upstairs neighbour whom she had met just before she left.

When the offer came to take her to see the fountain of two lovers she complied with the request – it was just around the corner from here and it was a beautiful spot for two people who had just finished their date, like them, to go there and sit and gaze into the stars and, perhaps, share their first kiss.

She was too busy engrossed in what he was saying about new artefacts that his parents wanted to donate to the gallery that she didn't notice he had turned left instead of right. She only noticed when the clean alleyways that were full of people turned to backalleys full of trash and tramps and no one else nearby.

"Er…I think we came the wrong way." Her voice, never wavering, came clear and strong and she turned to head back toward the bar but her date was grinning and pushed down to kiss her. Right before she called Makoto knowing that she was closest to where she was – she felt bad for cutting the date short but she needed hospital treatment and she wasn't in any position to go by herself./

Makoto got out of the car before Nephrite had even pulled the handbrake and ran amongst the dirt and the homeless people of Tokyo to find her friend. What she saw made he furious; Rei stood huddled against the wall, her coat was thrown between bags of discarded food from nearby restaurants, her arms were dirty, as was her dress which also happened to be ripped in places; her hair had come out of its elegant style and hung limp around her shoulders; there was some blood trickling down the side of her neck and she held her arm as if she was in pain. When she saw the man dressed in a suit lying next to Rei's coat Makoto's blood boiled to a point where she could feel the anger seeping through every pore of her body.

"Makoto!" Rei spotted her friend and started walking toward her – Makoto also noticed a slight limp.

"What happened to your leg and arm…and your neck!" Makoto slid Rei's ebony hair away from the blood to inspect the wound – however, she found that the wound wasn't on her neck but rather on her head and, after glancing at the dimply lit walls of alley she saw a wet spot that looked suspiciously like blood.

"After he…attacked me…I was caught by surprise and he pushed me against the wall really hard and I hit my elbow and head. Then I managed to compose myself and hit him back – that's how he ended up like that." Rei didn't glance backward but Makoto did with a triumphant look. If she had been in Rei's position that man would be showing no signs of life but Rei's attacker was, unfortunately (according to Makoto), still breathing labouredly despite being six feet deep in filth.

"Makoto whe…" Nephrite didn't even finish his sentence when he saw the state Rei was in. The girls saw him clench his fists in anger and look behind the girls as if wanting to do some serious damage.

"Rei's a black belt in karate, she took care of him." Nephrite just nodded silently and shed his coat to put on Rei's trembling body. She thanked him and got into the car. Nephrite glanced at Makoto over the top of the car and she stared at him with such hatred and anger in her eyes that it made him a little scared. He got into the car and headed straight for the nearest hospital at Rei's request – not that he would have done otherwise. Makoto took out her phone and sent a message via their group conversation to update the girl on their night.

* * *

At the hospital Rei was getting her stitches done when her friends burst through the visiting room and, to Nephrite's confusion, his youngest brother and best friend.

"Where is she?" Makoto assumed that the girls had appointed Ami the spokesperson so that they didn't speak over each other. The other two girls looked at Makoto eagerly awaiting her reply.

"She had a bit of a run in with her date – she took care of him but not before he shoved her against a wall which made her gash deep enough to warrant fifteen stiches." Ami and Mamoru winced because they knew the severity of fifteen stiches. Makoto continued. "She lost quite a lot of blood but they gave her something to ease the pain."

"Mamoru and I will go talk to the doctors and see how she's doing and what we can do." Mamoru just nodded and followed Ami to Rei's room.

"When can we see her?" Usagi's voice sounded desperate.

"The doctors are just going to finish up with her and then we can see her, I'm guessing." Makoto said and pointed to a chair for the girls. Usagi's eyes were red from crying but she seemed to have it under control.

"Will any retribution by our…" Mina turned to look at Zoicite and Nephrite and despite them being far away and not being able to listen, she still lowered her voice, "aliases be needed?" Makoto shook her head.

"Mina, we're not supposed to use our aliases for personal gain." Mina scoffed at their leader's scolding.

"Usa, you hurt one of us, you hurt us collectively and we need to get revenge."

"She's fine – she handled him on her own. If we need revenge then we can take him on in as us and not as the senshi…You, Mako and Rei can do more damage to him than anyone else and if need be, that's we'll do but we will NOT become guardians to beat up some guys who hurt our friend." Mina knew better than to argue back – she knew what Usagi was making sense but right now all she was thinking about was payback for her friend.

Ami and Mamoru came back moments later both sporting a smile.

"Rei will be fine. She has a slight concussion which means we'll have to keep her up all night and Ami and I will be keeping tabs on her…if that's ok of course." The last question was directed to Usagi who just nodded. The nurse finally came out and allowed them to see their friend. Nephrite and Zoicite stayed back to leave the girls, and Mamoru, to see their friend.

"Hey guys!" Makoto noticed Rei's dishevelled look and, under the light, she looked even worse than before. Her arms were not only dirty but angry finger bruises were seen coiling around her upper arm, her hair was matted in the back where the blood had dried, her eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion and, her friends guessed, from the pain medication she was given. Her face looked haggard and tired from the night's events but she looked forward to an evening in with her friends.

"Rei we have invited the guys over for a film night and Mina and I have relinquished control of what movie to watch over to you." Rei gave a wry grin.

"Thank you Usa." The girls chatted for a bit. Rei asked Makoto to bring Nephrite in to thank him properly. When the nurse came over with Rei's discharge papers her expression turned stern since the eight of them in Rei's small room were making a lot of noise with their talking and laughing. When Rei was finally discharged the group piled into two cars and made their way back to the apartment.

* * *

"Where is Usagi?" Rei demanded, hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. Her friends shrugged – Usagi was with Mamoru, Ami and Zoicite in the car and they were right behind them until Mamoru made a wrong turn and they had been waiting for them for over fifteen minutes.

"I can't believe we forgot our keys!" Makoto groaned.

"I gave mine to Usa since she was the only one with a purse handy."

"I lost my keys in the fight." Mina and Rei turned to their friend who shrugged.

"What? I thought you would open the door for me." Mina gave her a look and after some unspoken conversation that took place, Makoto yelled. "Mina! Get your mind out of the gutter, that's not why I didn't take my keys!" Nephrite looked confused but Rei understood.

"Yeah right Mako. I'm sure you _forgot _your keys."

"Why don't we go into our apartment? You can shower and I can give you some clothes." The girls nodded, their thoughts were with Rei and her desperate need for a shower.

"Thanks." Nephrite waved her gratitude off as he unlocked the door. The girls walked into the apartment tentatively, not having been there before, and marvelled at how clean it was.

"Wow…" Makoto breathed. The living room was refurbished to house state-of-the-art electronic equipment; there were bookshelves covering every wall with books, games and movies covering every inch of every shelf. Where ever there was a blank space there would be a retro poster from some film the girls had never even heard of.

"Zombie Holocaust?"

"Sex and Black Magic?"

"Le Demon dans l'ile?" The girls read out as they passed the strange movie posters. Nephrite looked at them sheepishly.

"My brothers and I have a weird fascination for really old horror movies." Makoto grinned.

"Just when I thought you were normal!" Before Nephrite could reply, Jadeite walked into the living room holding an empty bowl.

"Hey Jadeite." Jadeite looked at the girls curiously.

"If I knew we were having guests I would have put pants on."

"And a shirt." Nephrite turned to the girls. "This is my brother Jadeite – I don't know if you've met him." Jadeite gave a half wave and was about to leave before his brother stopped him. "Jed, can I ask you for a favour?"

"Am I going to regret it?"

"Can Rei use your shower?" Jadeite looked at the dishevelled girl who was awkwardly trying to cover her unkempt look by closing Nephrite's jacket. "My room is a little messy, Zoicite is doing some weird experiment in his bathtub and Kunzite locks his room." He failed to mention Mamoru's room on purpose in case it brought up some awkwardness between the girls.

"Yeah sure." Jadeite beckoned Rei to follow him into his room which she did, glad that he was so willing to help her out.

* * *

**A/N time!**

Thank you to:

**TaxPrincess **Haha, it is a joke ;) I was just in a really good mood from all the reviews and was just excited to thank you all and figured I might put everything in there ;)) Mamoru is protective of the girls – don't forget they fought together and he's Tuxedo Kamen! Plus, if the guys do turn out to be assholes who hurt Usagi's friends, she might think less of him (I wouldn't put it past him to think like that;)) )

**Sage McGavin **What did you think? Thanks for giving me so much encouragement ;)

**PrincessRaena SS **Your comment literally brought a tear to my eye! Writers are always hoping that their stories get recognised and that someone will just feel like their story is worth something. I have reviewers who made my day every time they review but your comment was just amazing – you don't need to thank me, I thank YOU for reading it J

**dreadiggs **I love writing about the pairings! I just love the different dynamics each pairing will have. That said, you'll have to wait a while for some pairings to get together. I LOVE MY DRAMA! ;) I always thought about what all that fighting would do to them and I wanted to change their personalities from immature 16 year olds to mature young adults. They've all changed loads and I have had a comment that said they sounded a little too out of character but that's the point. We change from year to year and they've been through A LOT! I try and bring back their old aspects but in a different way.

Questions:

1) Did you like Makoto and Nephrite's first date?

2) What about the upstairs neighbours? Thoughts….

3) Darien dating Saori… dumdumdumdum… how will Usagi react? Or…will she react?

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED FAVOURITED ALERTED FOLLOWED! You guys rock ;))

**AuroraFireMadness**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Usa, why would you order an extra-large pizza after a work out?" Usagi turned to her blonde friend, eyes wide and innocent, and replied:

"I spent two hours at the gym - one doing Zumba and one doing whatever Rei and Mako told me to do. I am entitled to eat an extra large pizza with double the toppings and stuffed crust with sausage!" She nodded triumphantly and walked ahead of her friends – getting to their apartment earlier would mean she would be able to get started on her pizza earlier – but she bumped into someone as she turned the corner, dropping her gym bag in the process. She apologised profusely and bowed in respect before she heard Mamoru chuckling with two of his friends.

"Mamo-chan!" She turned up and smiled at him. "Nephrite!" She hugged both men and turned to look at Jadeite. She just smiled and bowed slightly in respect. While she had gotten closer to the other two over the past three days, she didn't see enough of Jadeite to get close to him. Makoto and Nephrite were joined to the hip – since this was the beginning of their relationship and Zoicite followed Ami around like a lost puppy constantly wanting her undivided attention – which she was more than happy to give. The blonde man gave a curt nod of recognition.

"Where were you girls?" Nephrite asked as he walked over to Makoto and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Gym." His girlfriend replied, giving him a smile.

"That's how you go to gym?" The girls looked at their clothes, confused. Makoto was wearing one of Nephrite's green wife-beaters over loose grey track pants; Rei was wearing a red sports bra with black sports leggings, showing off her muscled stomach; Mina was dressed in a pink sports bra and matching lycra short pants; Ami was dressed in a sweat resistant black t-shirt with black leggings while Usagi was dressed in an oversized pink t-shirt with electric blue leggings. They all had a jumper tied around their waist which sported a strange sign on the back and their name on the front – only Mamoru got that each sign was their respective guardian symbol.

"You girls look like you should be in an article in sports illustrated." He noted – his eyes lingering a little longer on the way his oversized wife-beater was loose on Makoto's body save her bust area.

"What's the pizza for?" Jadeite asked pointing at the large square box under the blonde's arm and hoping that no one noticed his brother's thirsty look.

"Usagi doesn't believe fruit and vegetables will give her more of an energy boost than the pizza."

"And unlike the rest of us, Usagi doesn't put on a kilo every time she indulges." Mina said with a hint of resentment.

"So boys, if you don't mind, I'm going to go eat this while it's still hot." She winked at them and gave them a mock salute before rushing to her door, opening it and going inside to eat her pizza. Mina followed yelling in the process, "USAGI! I WANT PIZZA TOO! SCREW HEALTHY EATING!" She was looking back waving to the guys while running to the apartment not noticing that she about to knock into the eldest of the brothers coming out of the opposite apartment. Thankfully, Kunzite saw the thundering blonde and stepped out of her way gracefully as she continued begging Usagi for a slice of pizza.

"So, I'll see you tonight?" Kunzite heard his younger brother asking the tall girl before giving her a quick peck on the lips. He scrunched up his face in confusion.

"When did Nephrite get a girlfriend?" He murmured to his best friend.

"They've been together for a couple of days and it's sickening to see them together. They're always kissing and always holding hands." His friend turned to look at him. "It's actually quite disgusting."

"How did I not know about this turn of events?"

"Probably because you're either at the library or the gym all day. Brother, where have you been? We've missed you!" Nephrite looked up from staring into Makoto's eyes to look at his eldest brother. "Even Jed's taken to yelling at the walls in your absence!" Jadeite scoffed while their eldest brother just rolled his eyes.

"Shut it Nephrite. Anyway, I'm off to the library." He gave a curt nod to Makoto. "Nice meeting you." Makoto barely got to wave at him before he rushed toward the elevator.

"My brother, as you can see, is very talkative and even just saying that he was pleased to meet you was his way of showing affection. I think he approves of you." Makoto stared after the tallest of the brothers, her nose scrunched in confusion.

"That's him showing affection?" The three boys nodded.

"Kunzite isn't…he doesn't…" Jadeite interrupted the ramblings of Mamoru.

"He hates showing emotion. He thinks it makes him weak."

"Ah, so it's an inherited gene I'm guessing." Jadeite sharply turned to stare at the raven haired girl.

"If that's your idea of humour…" He began, but she interrupted.

"No it's not my idea of humour. I meant it." He was about to reply but something in her eyes made him stop. Mamoru tried to hide a smirk while Ami quietly slipped away since she felt awkward standing in between Makoto and Nephrite staring into each other's eyes lovingly and the pent up sexual tension between Rei and Jadeite which neither seemed to notice. She was about to enter her house, Mina had left the door wide open, when Zoicite walked out of his apartment. He seemed to be in a trance so he didn't notice her – Ami decided to make a bold move and get his attention by placing her hand softly on his shoulder as he was locking the door.

"Hey." She said softly. He jumped a little, taken aback by her sudden presence, but his frown broke into a smile when he saw who it was that was interrupting his thoughts.

"Ami! Hi!" Ami tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and blushed. He seemed genuinely interested to see her and she wasn't used to that from people other than her best friends.

"Are you ok? You look a bit…perturbed." Zoicite grinned – Ami was the only girl…actually she was the only person who would use the word 'perturbed' when speaking to a friend.

"I was just thinking of my next assignment. I'm taking my fungus experiment to the next level and I have to go away for a bit." He noticed her expression fall and some part of him felt giddy for some reason.

"Oh. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Doctor Takahashi who lives in a small village in northern Tokyo. My chemistry professor was really excited with the progress of my other experiments so she wants me to go see her and talk about my work." He looked so excited to be meeting the Doctor who was renowned in Tokyo for her experiments in fungi that it was kind of cute.

"I met Doctor Takahashi when I went to a conference in Nagoya with my mother. She was extremely intelligent in all matters to do with fungal viruses and herbal medication. You will have such an awesome time." Ami perked up a little as she reminisced her time spent with Doctor Takahashi. Zoicite smiled and stared at her expression for a bit before touching her lightly on her arm to get her out of her trance.

"I am so glad to hear good things about her. I was a bit scared at first because she's so renowned and, next to her, I know practically nothing!" Ami giggled but then her expression turned serious.

"Don't underestimate yourself. You are one of the smartest people I know and, believe me, I know quite a few smart people! How long are you going away for?" He smiled at her touching words before answering.

"I leave next week for three weeks." Ami tried to hide her sudden despondency but Zoicite noticed her expression changing.

"Three weeks is a long time!" Zoicite gave her a half smile.

"Well, this is where I need your help." Ami's expression turned determined.

"See, my fungi back home need to continue to be nurtured, but unfortunately I won't be here…so…" He trailed off hoping that Ami would get his drift.

"You want me to look after your fungi while you're gone?" Zoicite laughed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"If you could." Ami grinned.

"Nothing would give me more pleasure." Zoicite looked at her from under his lashes and watched her expression as he continued to speak.

"This means that I will be ringing you twice a day so I can get updates." Ami looked up at him and blushed; her elevated mood was due to his demand – this made the blonde man very very happy since he had other plans for wanting to talk to her twice a day. Not that his fungi wasn't important to him, they were like his children, but he didn't want to lose touch with Ami.

"AMES WE NEED A TIE BREAKER! COULD YOU PLEASE COME HOME?" Ami turned toward the door, cringing while Zoicite felt a buzz in his pocket and inwardly cursed – it was his group texting him that he was late.

"I have to go…" Ami pointed to the door behind her a bit despondently as Zoicite hit the side of his thigh hoping to stop the buzzing. Ami looked at him curiously while Zoicite just grinned at her sheepishly.

"I kind of have to go too. Listen, tomorrow come over and I want to show you something." Ami nodded and gave him a brief hug before going into her house.

* * *

Meanwhile, during Zoicite and Ami's encounter, Nephrite and Makoto were silently arguing about whether to go to his house or her house while Mamoru watched in good humour. Nephrite wanted to go to the girl's Apartment since he didn't want his friend and brothers nosing in on him, while Makoto wanted to go to his apartment for the same reason concerning her nosy friends. Finally, Makoto won because Nephrite couldn't really get a handle on saying no to his girlfriend. Mamoru laughed and promised that he would arrange to go to the library and leave the house to the couple since Jadeite was out with Kei and Zoicite was in the library with the eldest brother. Nephrite thanked his friend,

"I owe you buddy" And winked at Mamoru as Makoto pulled him after her into his apartment. Mamoru sighed and contemplated going to the library or just calling a few of his coursemates and see whether they wanted to grab a drink. He pondered this for a while, and even debated on begging the girls to give him sanctuary, when he saw someone come out of the elevator. He frowned as the man came closer and closer to the girls' apartment – Mamoru didn't know him and wondered whether the girls knew him. The man nodded politely at him before walking to the girls' door and ringing the doorbell.

"WHO IS IT?" He heard Usagi yell.

"It's uh..it's Zach!" The boy shouted through the door. Mamoru heard one of the girls tripping, probably Usagi, as she rushed to open the door.

"Hi!" The blonde girl flushed as she greeted the man behind the door – Mamoru was wrong, it wasn't Usagi but her double, Minako, who had answered the door.

"Hey Zach." She twirled a strand of her hair in front of her as she leaned casually against the door frame staring at the man in front of her.

"Minako, right?" Mina giggled.

"More milk?" The man looked at her confused until he got the meaning from their last meeting. He laughed as Minako's smile grew bigger.

"No, no, I was actually coming down to formally invite you to the party tomorrow and to tell you, tell all your friends. We've put up an invitation in the elevator and on the noticeboard downstairs, but since we met you…" Mina nodded.

"We'll all be there! Well…what I mean to say is that I'll tell the girls and they will probably do their best to be there…but I will definitely be there." Mamoru laughed at her flirting technique. She played the part of a bubbly, ditzy blonde down to a tee, and doubted whether the man opposite her would ever guess she was a guardian of the Earth.

"Great! My brother told me to extend his personal invitation to your friend Rei." Before Mina could reply Mamoru heard the raven haired girl's response from inside the house.

"Tell him I'll be there!" Zach and Mina grinned. They spoke a bit more, Minako asked if they wanted the girls to bring anything, and Zach just told them to bring a positive attitude. Mamoru walked to the elevator and decided that the library would be his best choice tonight. Tomorrow he would persuade his friends to go the party upstairs; he knew Usagi wasn't interested in the guys, or vice versa, but lest there were any eligible bachelors at the party, he wouldn't lose to anyone in the apartment complex.

_Good God, imagine if she decides to date that sap from the first floor…nah she wouldn't…he's obsessed with Minako and his love for her isn't fickle. What if that guy on the seventh floor comes, the gym obsessed guy whose brain is the size of a peanut? _Mamoru shuddered. _No…I will make Usagi see that we are meant to be and make her fall in love with me again. _

Mamoru thought about various ways to make his old girlfriend fall in love with him while walking to the library. When he reached the main door, he decided to go to the physics labs instead of going to the quiet rooms to study in hopes of talking to his best friend. Kunzite would help him. He always had sound advice.

* * *

Jadeite looked around the club Kei had brought him to and frowned. It wasn't his usual scene but Kei seemed so happy for introducing him to this place that he didn't want to burst her bubble. She was at the bar ordering drinks while he was sitting at a table trying not to notice the water stains that had marred the once beautiful oak tables made by careless patrons of this bar by their lack of common sense in using coasters. He didn't have to wait long since Kei was able to catch a bartender's attention and jumped the long line. She passed him a whiskey sour, with a coaster, while she sipped a multi-coloured cocktail which had far too many decorations on it for Jadeite's taste. She put her drink on a coaster, much to Jadeite's contentment and turned to face the sea of people in the club who were dancing in sync to the techno music, bodies grinding so close there wasn't a hair's breadth between the dancers. Kei knew Jadeite would never get up and dance, so she propped her elbow on the table and held her head up as she studied the dancers and shuffled her feet a bit under the table and moved her upper body slightly to the beat. Jadeite grasped her upper thigh and gave her an affectionate squeeze, this was the most he could do, and she turned to face him with a smile on her face.

When she had met him, she thought him to be the most arrogant, rudest man she had met but there was something magnetic about him that accounted for the instant attraction. He had singled her out amongst all the single girls at the bar – a bar which she would never have gone to, had her friend not begged her to be the third wheel on a blind date. Getting her friend's consent, her blind date turned out to be someone really cool, Kei joined Jadeite for a drink and realised that the more she found out they had nothing in common, the more she wanted to be with him. This was unusual, as Kei knew he was not her type; however, he had an aura about him that made her feel extremely safe and he broadened her horizons as no man had ever done before. He was more than the rich guys she usually dated – he was made of substance and she could see a future with him. She knew that one day he would get bored with her and move on, she knew his type, but for the time being she must have been doing something right because they were still together.

He thanked her for the drink and engaged her in a lively recount of his attempt at borrowing a book from the new section of the library which seemed to be too technologically advanced for Jadeite's archaic ways. He made her laugh until she had stiches – for now, Kei was happy and Jadeite was content.

* * *

A few hours later, apartment 2A became the grounds of a civil war.

"MINAAAKKKOOOO," Usagi's dulcet whine vibrated throughout the apartment. "PLEEEEEEEASSEEEE." Ami sighed as she deleted the same sentence for the 10th time; she had been stuck on said sentence for about twenty minutes now due to the civil war.

"Usagi, for the millionth time I am not going to convince Armando to give you free manga!"

"But..But.." Usagi sputtered, "what's the point of going out on a date with the Italian guy across the street who owns the manga store?" Minako turned, her hand poised near her ear as she was about to put her earring in and stared at Usagi, not knowing whether her friend was being serious or teasing her. Apparently, Ami gauged her friend's reaction, she was being serious.

"You seriously think that I am going out with Armando so you can get free manga?" Minako turned to her reflection and inserted her earring carefully. She tested out putting a strand of her luscious blonde her tucked behind her ear and in front of it.

"I like it tucked behind your ear." Ami noted – her friend turned to look at her, smiled, and went back to looking at her reflection in the mirror going with Ami's advice and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's not manga JUST for me – Rei needs manga too."

"Needs?" Her friend turned and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her.

"Yes! We need two manga that have been out of stock for AGES!" Usagi folded her arms in front of her and gave her friend a stubborn look. Minako finally sighed.

"Listen. I'll tell Armando about the two manga but I am not asking someone I am going out on a first date with to give my friends free manga."

"Eurgh, fine! But if I were going out with him…" Usagi trailed off and went to the kitchen leaving Minako and Ami to stare at each other, smiling.

"What about Zach?" Ami asked her friend about their upstairs neighbour who seemed to have had some sort of connection with Mina. Her blonde friend just shrugged.

"If he asks me out, or when he asks me out, I might not be with Armando or I'll see from then whether I want to go out with him or stay with Armando." Ami turned back to her laptop unable to understand how her friend was so callous when it came to guys. When she was in relationships, not that she was that experienced since she had dated two guys in her entire life, she gave her everything into making the relationship work. Usagi was the same – she had had one serious boyfriend, Mamoru, and the rest were just meaningless dates. Her callousness wasn't to Minako's standards yet, but she seemed to be following in her best friend's footsteps. Rei was more serious in who she dated; she was once in love with her father's assistant and he had strung her along for months before she found out he was engaged to someone else – she had never recovered from that heartache and was constantly trying to find someone else to give her love to but was, to date, unsuccessful. Makoto flitted from boy to boy thinking that she had found her soulmate in every one of them, but it wasn't until Nephrite came along that the girls saw who Makoto truly was when she was in love. She had never once referred to Nephrite as her soulmate, lest she screw any cosmic karma up, and was tentative in every step she took in the relationship.

Ami continued to type her essay, things going much smoother since the argument between Usagi and Minako had seemed to subside when the two girls came into the living from the kitchen, Minako holding a glass of orange juice and Usagi holding a plate with two slices of pizza on it, talking about a new perfume Usagi wanted to buy,

"I think it's too floral for my taste but Rei says that it's perfect for me." Minako took a sip of her juice while Usagi took a bit out of her pizza.

"I think floral perfume would suit you very much – from what you told me, I think I know which one you're talking about and I think you should go for it."

"Will you come with me tomorrow and smell it on me?" Minako nodded and they both turned to their blunette friend whose facial expression turned from confused to horrified.

"You are not taking me to the beauty shop. I already have a hard enough time getting to my favourite makeup – all those smells make me want to throw up." She saw Usagi screw her face into her whiny mode which meant that she wouldn't be quiet until Ami agreed to go with them.

"Aaaaaamiii," she whined, "please come with us. I know how much you hate perfume but this is a big decision for me. I've had the same perfume since high school!" Ami finally gave into Usagi's pleas just so she could get her peace and return to her essay.

Usagi leaned over and plugged her console into the PlayStation connected to the TV and began playing her favourite Sailor V video game which had come out earlier that year – she had received it as a present from her parents who had been so proud of Serena getting into University parallel to her Sailor Senshi duties.

For a while, neither of the girls spoke; Ami was typing away furiously on her laptop, Minako was reading Cosmopolitan, and constantly checking the time impatiently clicking her tongue when she noticed that he date was already ten minutes late, and Usagi was heatedly clicking console buttons to get the animated version of her best friend to do her bidding.

"Sailor Venus, I swear, we are not friends anymore!" Usagi cried in a frustrated tone after a notice filled the TV screen saying she had lost.

"Why is that Princess?" Minako's tone sounded bored – every time it took Usagi more than a few tries to beat the level, she would hate on her best friend.

"Why would the producers make it so hard for me to beat this level?" Ami looked up from her laptop and grinned.

"Usagi, you need to be patient. This is what the game tries to teach you." Usagi turned to her friend, eyes narrowed.

"Patience is overrated." Ami just laughed and returned to her essay while Usagi put the controller in front of her and contemplated picking it up again. After a while the bell rang and Minako shot off from her position on the couch to open the door revealing her, now, thirty minutes late date. "You know what, it's the controller's fault. I need a new one – maybe I'll ask one for Christmas." She said to no one in particular leaving the controller in the same position as she got up to get a look at Minako's date. Ami laughed as Usagi's musings and at the same time strained an ear to hear Armando's excuse.

"…and then the store owner wanted to talk about these new manga…" Minako quickly shushed him as she saw Rei coming round the corner – she had obviously come back from her emergency at work and she didn't want her to hear about any new manga shipment having come in since she would keep Minako and Armando from going on their date by demanding a full review of all the new plotlines. They exchanged a quick hello before the happy couple rushed off to their date. Rei noticed that the cute geeky date Minako had bagged was obviously ready to get the date started, and made a beeline for the kitchen. Work was crazy that evening – after a whole day at work and then their gym session, all she had wanted to do was curl up with a good book and a glass of wine and then sleep. But someone had work had seriously screwed up on a very important shipment and they ended up with artefacts from the nineteenth century housed in the wing with the medieval coin collection.

"Who the hell confuses Donato Barcaglia as a medieval sculptor?" The beautiful girl muttered as she scanned the fridge contents, suddenly ravenous.

As she contemplated between choosing pizza and fruit, she thought of Minako's date. She and Minako seemed to have polar opposites when it came to their dates' personalities; Minako was pursued day and night by many suitors but she picked those who were easy to manipulate, they were always very good looking, but she liked having the attention on her at all times. Rei was also pursued by many guys but she tended to date those who turned out to be assholes, those who wanted to dominate their women and show them who was boss. While Minako ended up getting bored of the attention, and thus end the relationship, Rei would also follow in her friend's footsteps but for the opposite reasons – she had never seemed to find that one guy who would stay interested long enough about her to actually care. They were only after her beauty, and it got tiresome.

She had once loved someone, like she had never loved anyone before, but it ended being a one sided love story as she poured her heart and soul into the relationship, gave and gave everything she had but received nothing but the bare minimum in return. Rei would have been happy with just the bare minimum, as long she knew he had been committed to just her, but he had given part of his soul to someone else breaking her heart into a million pieces when she had received the wedding invitation. Her father had forced her to go and witness the man she loved, marry someone else. Sighing, the raven-haired beauty entered the living room with her dinner and sat beside her blunette friend as she started picked at a bowl of fresh fruit Makoto had thoughtfully cut up for all of them before going to Nephrite's to spend the night.

"So, how have you been?" Ami grinned at her friend and but her laptop down, telling Rei of her success so far at convincing her tutor to allow her to take extra classes out of her department. Rei listened and voiced her concerns about Ami taking on too much but her friend assured her that it was all ok. They both avoided the conversation on boys – Ami desperately wanted advice on how to handle her new feelings on Zoicite while Rei wanted someone to hear her heartache and tell her that everything was going to be ok. Instead the talked about the party which would take place upstairs and laughed themselves silly as they made bets on how much their two blonde friends would drink, whether Usagi would finally get together with Mamoru and whether Minako would leave Armando for one of the boys upstairs.

* * *

Nephrite held Makoto close to him as she sleepily traced lazy circles on his exposed chest. He couldn't believe that his beautiful neighbour was now his beautiful girlfriend. They had been together for two weeks and he couldn't be happier. Jadeite had made fun of him at first, saying that Makoto was going to be just another notch on his bed, but by the end of the first week his "twin's" incessant jokes had subsided as Nephrite's feelings for the next-door neighbour grew exponentially in just a matter of a few days. His older brother had seemed to approve of the girl today – Kunzite had never really bothered learning about his brothers' girlfriends and what they were up to but this time it was different. Nephrite and Makoto were always together and they seemed to be joined to the hip. Since entering the apartment, the boys had noticed a drastic change in their lifestyle. They actually had home cooked meals on a daily basis and the house always smelled wonderful as Makoto was constantly trying out new recipes. The boys just had the task of making sure the fridge was stocked up with food Makoto needed for her recipes – the reward of her cooking was enough to ensure that the boys NEVER 'forgot' to go shopping nor to pick up healthy ingredients. Even Jadeite and Kunzite had done their share of grocery shopping in return for a wonderful meal (not that said meals were ever eaten all together, but they enjoyed having different meals every day to enjoy as they studied). Lately, Makoto had even taken to preparing snacks for Kunzite and Zoicite who spent a lot of time in the library – so instead of them picking something unhealthy from the cantine, they would have a healthy snack to munch on. Both boys were immensely grateful, especially Kunzite who had lately taken to eating anything he could get his hands on despite expiry dates and questionable ingredients used.

Nephrite smiled at the now sleeping girl beside him and leaned over, without jostling her awake, to close the light. He thought of the beautiful girl beside him and how he had become so serious with her in such a short amount of time. The only person who understood him was Endymion, his best friend, his prince, who had once been in the boy's shoes a few years ago. Endymion was the only one he dared confide in, his brothers would just laugh at him, and he had been surprised at how strong his feelings were for the tall brunette. His friend understood the feelings, and was able to advise him on certain things – he was also able to help him cope with the surge of happiness he had found since both had been unaccustomed to such feelings before they met their respective mates. Nephrite would spend his time studying in the kitchen while his girlfriend cooked and he found it scary how comfortable he had fallen into this routine.

As sleep started to creep up on him Nephrite had his scariest day dream to date – a vision of him holding a baby while Makoto was smiling happily up at him from a hospital bed. Nephrite was, as were his brothers, a notorious commitment-phobe and the minute he saw things were getting too serious, he would back away from the relationship. However, this vision just made him smile and that was what scared him most of all…he was starting to get comfortable.

Makoto, meanwhile, had similar thoughts before she had drifted off to sleep. Visions of a future where she and Nephrite would be raising their herd of a family brought a smile to her sleepy face. She felt the attraction the minute she laid eyes on him – the physical spark was evident in their first kiss and the bond she had never felt with anyone else was there when they first came together as one. She believed in soul mates, like most of her friends did (save for Usagi and Minako) and knew that she had found the one.

A/N

I AM SO SORRY for not updating sooner. Life gets in the way and screws up my momentum L

Hope you like this chapter! :D


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Minako woke up feeling as if the sun was burning through her closed eyes. She wasn't normally a morning person, but today she woke up feeling like the living dead.

"Now I know what zombies feel like." She muttered as she tried to shield the sun from her eyes by putting her arm over her face. She cursed her flare for interior decorating because the blue silky curtains she had picked out did, in fact, create a nice hue of blue on the white walls when the sun was up, but it did very little in protecting her from the sun.

"MINAKO! I'M THE LAST ONE TO LEAVE! MAKE SURE YOU LOCK THE DOOR!" Minako cringed as Usagi's high pitched voice came through her panting and the loud slam just made the beautiful blonde curse and roll over on her side, clutching the pillow to her head. Was that how she sounded when she yelled to the last one to lock the door? She pondered this for a moment before dragging her feet out of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom to brush her teeth. While rinsing her mouth, the doorbell rang. Spitting out the mouthful of water, she looked at herself into the mirror and groaned. She shut off the tap, wiped her mouth and inwardly cursed whoever it was behind the door for coming so early in the morning.

"I'm coming!" She yelled through the open door, cringing inwardly at her yelling, and stumbled her way to the living room, shielding her eyes from the stream of light coming in through the open curtains. She cursed Rei for being a morning person and insisting on doing yoga every morning with the curtains wide open since she never seemed to shut them after she was done. She opened the door, hoping it wouldn't be the cute neighbours from upstairs seeing her in this frightful state, and nearly dropped her jaw when she saw who it was.

"You really should ask who it is before opening the door." He admonished her in a curt tone that irked her. He had a commanding tone, rather than a patronising one, and she didn't know whether she should have taken it as advice or a scolding. She didn't reply, instead she just gave him a vacant look, so he continued.

"The mailman left this parcel at our house and it looks to be expensive so…" His voice was deep and had a certain rough tone to it. Minako shuddered at hearing his voice so early in the morning. It was too much and it put her body into overdrive. She also noted his no nonsense tone which he had infuriatedly kept on throughout their whole "date" – he didn't barter round the bush nor segue into a conversation like a normal person.

"Er… thanks." She looked like hell, or so she thought; she had a serious case of bed hair, her eyes were still half shut and she hadn't had time to rub the sleep from her eyes. She must have also looked ridiculous in her pink bunny slippers (courtesy of Usagi) and long nightgown with a captain America shield in front of it (courtesy of Makoto). She took the parcel and contemplated slamming the door in the man's face – the last time their neighbour had seen her, she was dressed in her first date dress and matching lingerie underneath; her hair was perfectly coiffed and she had worn makeup.

"I was also wondering whether I could borrow some milk." Minako scrunched up her nose. Didn't Makoto have milk on her shopping list – after all, it was a must have in the house and she did seem to spend most of the time in the apartment opposite.

"Sure, come on in." Kunzite stepped into the house as if he owned it and for some reason, this infuriated Minako even more. "Wait here." Hands in pockets, Kunzite, who didn't like obeying orders, stayed put. His eyes didn't betray the embarrassment he was currently feeling. He didn't want milk, in fact he never drank milk, but for some reason when he saw who had opened the door he was at a loss for words at a time when he wanted to say something. He didn't often speak and being sociable wasn't his strongest point but he felt compelled to stay longer in the blonde beauty's presence. He wasn't used to following orders, and was usually the person giving instead of receiving them, but he somehow managed to stay put, albeit not very willingly.

Minako soon returned with a carton of milk.

"Sorry, it's low fat…you know, five girls living under one roof…" Kunzite just shrugged, not really caring, while Minako sounded unapologetic despite her words.

"Thanks." He was curt and took the carton of milk from her. For a few seconds no one talked and there was an obdurate silence filling the room. Minako shuffled awkwardly while Kunzite stood holding the carton of milk in his hand, not quite knowing what to do with it. Minako desperately wanted to close the door, while Kunzite was trying to rack his brain and think of something to say. Thankfully, Minako being well versed in social protocol, smiled, despite her current annoyance, and started conversing.

"How goes university? You were studying…" She tried to remember what the grey haired man was studying but she drew a blank.

"I'm doing my PhD in experimental physics." Minako nodded – she didn't remember ever having talked about his degree. "How is your psychology degree going?" Minako did a double take. How did he remember what she was studying? When did they talk about it?

"Er…It's going really well. I am enjoying my new course." Kunzite gave a half smile that made Minako remember the reason she talked to him at the bar that night.

"Did you end up taking the one in child psychology or altruism?" Minako took care not to let the shock show on her face again – she also made a mental note to stop talking so much on future dates.

"I took the one in child psychology which runs over two semesters instead of one."

"That's smart. You have the same professor for two semesters so you don't have to fear the next one not liking you." Minako had never thought of that and looked impressed.

"Yeah I guess…" Her voice trailed off as Kunzite shuffled towards the door awkwardly. He held the milk up and nodded in appreciation before exiting the apartment and leaving Minako more confused than ever. She looked at the open door and just shrugged to herself – people could be strange but not this strange. She closed the door and made her way to the kitchen where she got started on making her protein filled breakfast – she was physically moving to her morning routine but her thoughts were, instead of thinking about what she had to do throughout the day, on the boy next door. She couldn't get his awkwardness out of her mind. Nor could she get the fact that he remembered what she was studying and what course she was planning on taking this semester.

Armando yesterday had been a perfect gentleman. He took her to a nice restaurant, let her pick out the wine, talked about himself but asked appropriate questions about her as well, pulled out her chair when they were about to be seated and ended the night with a chaste kiss on the cheek. Minako tried to remember the night she had met Kunzite

_The bar was loud, really loud. Minako was talking to a group of girls from her course whom she had met at orientation earlier this week. She was having fun, but the girls were a little tightly wound – they were standing awkwardly in a corner, sipping on sodas, she wondered why they even bothered coming to a bar when they could have done this at the arcade or somewhere less…noisy. _

_She approached the bar and was in the process of ordering a drink when she spotted a beautiful man sitting opposite her; he had grey hair, was about 25 years old and had piercing grey eyes and when he locked eyes with her, Minako swore she felt a jolt of electricity run through her. He didn't smile but instead stared at her with an intense gaze. The barman arrived and thus blocked her view of him._

"_I'd like a club soda please!" Minako yelled over the loud techno music. Usually she would have been in the mood to dance to this music but she wasn't with the right crowd. The bartender moved to go back in the kitchens to bring her club soda, since they had run out, and Minako was gutted to find that the man she had been staring at was gone. The music made the room vibrate, and out of sheer boredom, the blonde beauty started moving her body to the beat. What she didn't see was that as soon as she started moving rhythmically to the music, almost half the male population turned to stare. Even if she had noticed, she would have remained unperturbed since she was used to guys staring at her. She wasn't particularly tall, but she had a womanly body which she tried to maintain as much as possible. Being a sailor senshi, she had an unusually fast metabolism, but it still took a lot to make sure the muscle definition was evident and that her toned body was just perfect. Men liked to stare and the girl didn't mind that. _

_She didn't notice one man in particular staring – the same man who had been the object of her affection just a while ago. He had cursed the barman repeatedly for obstructing his view of the beautiful girl, for she was a girl, and not yet a woman. Before the barman could move, he had slid off his seat and made his way round the bar toward her. His younger brother didn't notice his absence, which was for the better considering the man was ready to kill him for dragging him to this horrible bar playing horrible music. Although, he now found no fault in the music as he stared at the blonde beauty moving her body perfectly to the rhythm. He saw the hungry look in the other patrons' eyes and moved faster in case any one of them got to her before he did. He was drawn to her for some reason._

"_That'll be 1300 yen" The barman had returned with her drink. Minako looked at the drink and was about to pay for it when she thought about the group of "friends" she was going back to and seemed to have an afterthought._

"_Actually, could you put in two shots of hendrick's gin please?" The barman nodded. He gave her another price and before she was about to pay some country bumpkin (for that was what Kunzite thought of the other patrons in the club) took the liberty of offering to pay for her. Kunzite got there just as Minako was about to reply and gave the man a glaring stare. Minako looked confused as to why the man who had suddenly offered to pay for her drink was suddenly pale and so turned to see the man whom she had been staring at glaring at the man intensely. She gave a half smile as Kunzite wordlessly handed some money over to the barman, his eyes never leaving hers, and waved off the change he was offered. The barman looked at him impressed and winked at Minako who just smiled even more._

_He had never asked for her name – he had just asked her whether she was a student at the university and, this was probably how he knew everything about her, she just started talking in her friendly manner. He had bought her another drink before she finally stopped talking and started asking questions about him. This was when she saw that he was as taciturn as his demeanour showed. She had grown tired of asking all the questions, so she got up and was about to thank him and leave when he suddenly stood up with her and grabbed her close. He had given her a soft kiss on the lips, which had surprised her, and leaned back, his gaze asking her whether she wanted more or not. She could have left since he had let go of her but she had felt something, something she had never felt before. Suddenly, her feet weren't hurting from being in heels all evening, her dress didn't feel as tight and the buzz she had gotten from the drinks had disappeared completely. She wrapped her arms around his neck, which took a bit of effort considering the difference in height, and pulled him down, planting his lips firmly on hers. _

_She had told her friends that she would see them on Monday at university. They didn't mind that she was leaving and were actually thankful that they could all leave as well. She never spoke to them again. Kunzite had taken her to his apartment which was a two bedroom condo he shared with his best friend. He never asked her whether she wanted to keep going, but instead let her lead until it was his time to take over. She usually hated relinquishing control, she couldn't find pleasure in following orders, but tonight she was his to ply, his to mould and his to take. The next morning she had woken up in his bed, in his arms, something she had never done before. For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity and warmth, a memory lingering on from a long time ago. But she shook herself awake; she had never met him before and it was stupid of her to think of getting attached to him so soon. She felt the man next to her stirring, her shudder having woken him up and she immediately starting becoming self-conscious of her semi-naked body underneath the covers, morning breath and the awkwardness that would follow. However, he just stirred and changed sides – she felt the instance loss of his warmth from next to her. She quietly crept out of the bed and got changed before making her way to the kitchen…she couldn't handle getting back home without having first drunk coffee._

_Kunzite felt the loss of warmth beside his bed as soon as Minako left and got up immediately following her to the kitchen, shirtless. He saw her prodding and pressing various buttons on Mamoru's coffee machine before it roared to life. She gave a triumphant 'hah' and punched the air in victory. Kunzite grinned._

"_Pour me a cup too." Minako was startled and nearly dropped her own cup but Kuznite was faster and caught her hand before she could drop it. The girl smiled and subconsciously leaned into his open arms as she poured another cup, specifically for him. She turned and passed the mug to him before taking hers._

"_Do you want anything else for breakfast?" Minako shook her head. Kunzite smiled and beckoned her to follow him to the balcony which led them to a spectacular view of the sun rising from behind a beautiful park. Of course, while the sunrise was beautiful, Minako couldn't help but think that since she was close to a park and her luck was terrible, a youma attack was imminent. She took a sip of her steaming coffee hoping that it would quell her shiver, but it didn't. Kunzite noticed this and went inside the balcony doors to his room and picked up his jumper which was casually thrown over a chair before giving it to her. The girl smiled and as she wore it and gave him a kiss on the cheek before cupping her mug and taking another sip. _

_For once both parties felt at ease and they slunk into a comfortable silence just drinking their coffee and watching the sun rise. When they noticed how the time had passed, they had both started excusing themselves. They exchanged numbers and he made a promise to call her. _

A promise he never lived up to.

* * *

Usagi was in the process of getting a book from an extremely high shelf before damning it all to hell and thought about leaving. But she was determined to get that particular book since it had primary sources she needed for her essay and, damn it, she wasn't going to let something as inconsequential as her height get in the way. Sneaking a look left and right she grinned before putting her foot on one of the shelves – she might have seemed like a slight thing barely topping five foot two but her fondness of food was evident in the sagging shelf as soon as she had stabled her whole body on the lower shelf. Testing her balance, and whether the shelf would take her weight, she started to climb the rest of the shelves until she was in a suitable position to grab the book. The third shelf not only sagged, but Usagi swore she heard a small crack. She waited a bit, and as she saw that the shelf was able to take her weight, began climbing again.

"I have to lose weight…" Usagi groaned as she grabbed the shelf above her and hoisted herself up. She tested reaching for the book, but she was still a couple of feet short of being able to pick it up. She heard a chuckle behind her, and without turning, she knew who it was and sighed. The figure came up to her right hand side and just stared at her with an infuriating smile.

"Hey Usako, what are you doing?" Mamoru looked at her with a bemused expression.

"Trying to get a book." Usagi growled knowing very well that he was aware of her predicament. Her height was a running joke during their relationship; Mamoru would put the candy bars and chocolates she loved so much on the highest shelf in his apartment so that she wouldn't be able to reach them. Also, whenever they went shopping, she would struggle to reach items on high shelves, and out of pure stubbornness, the household was often left without toilet paper, quality shampoo, detergent and, for some reason, pasta. Mamoru would have to make another trip to the supermarket for these essentials when Usagi was either at school or out with her friends.

The boy just crossed his arms and continued staring at her as she struggled to reach the next shelf – her arms were getting tired from trying to grip the dusty shelves. When she faltered at times, Mamoru would jerk instinctively to her side, but she shot him a glare as if daring him to steady her. Just as she was about to close her grip around the book, Mamoru plucked it from her reach and grinned at her while she just scowled.

"Give it to me." She strained to keep her voice steady – she really was starting to get tired.

"Come down Usako and I'll give you the book."

"It's Usagi and I want to hold the book and come down at the same time." Mamoru bet all his savings that she would have stomped her foot in protest had she been safe on the ground. He shook his head, his smile faltering as he noticed her swaying. The blonde girl just sighed and slowly made her way down the bookshelf, each shelf creaking as her weight was alleviated from them. When she reached the floor, Mamoru wordlessly held out the book but she just stared it before looking up at him with a blank look in her eyes.

"I don't need it." Before he could protest, she turned and left the area. Still holding the book in his outstretched hand, the boy just sighed and slumped his shoulders as he walked back to his table.

"Why the tall face?" Nephrite joked as he clapped his friend on the back,

"Long face." His youngest brother corrected him and immediately went back to typing furiously on his computer. His brother just stuck his tongue out at him before turning to his best friend.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said glumly as he turned back to the book he was reading before he saw the girl of his affection go to the politics section of the library. His youngest friend sighed.

"He obviously had another run in with Usagi which probably didn't go as planned." He glanced at the book lying next to Mamoru's textbook. "I would guess that she couldn't reach a particular book and she tried to get it herself. Dymi, being the chivalrous man he is, offered to get it for her but she refused." His friend and brother stared at him.

"How…" His friend started to question, but then seemed to think about it and just stopped.

"Judging by your reaction, you did something to her to piss her off. Dymi, yes I respect you lots, but you have to be nicer to her! Especially now that you want her back!"

"Which reminds me!" Nephrite interjected before his friend could reply. "Saori left a message on the house phone about your date on Friday." Mamoru's eyes widened while Zoicite snapped his head up to look at his friend with a suspicious look.

"Why are you going out with Saori?"

"You're the one who got me her number."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually ring her." Nephrite snorted.

"Then why did you give it to him brother?" Zoicite shook his head.

"Stay out of it Nephrite." He turned to his best friend. "Dymi, do you want Usagi or not?" Mamoru stopped to think.

"She told me she wanted some time apart."

"So you choose to spend your time apart with Saori?"

"Brother…" Nephrite started, but Zoicite shushed him.

"Zoicite, why do you even care?" Zoicite pursued his lips.

"Dymi, I hold you in the highest respects. But the fact that you're choosing to rebound from Usagi with a girl who is in love with you… has been in love with you… since school is unacceptable." Mamoru took into serious consideration what his friend was saying. "You can't play with women like that."

"I'm not playing with Saori."

"So you have feelings for her?" Mamoru turned uncomfortably in his seat.

"I don't think…I don't know." He finally decided on that. Zoicite gathered his books up.

"Listen Dymi, I am seriously falling for Ami and Nephrite and Makoto seem to be very much in love. Kunzite and Mina have some weird shit going on which could, potentially, end up becoming a romantic entanglement."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Mamoru snapped, suddenly feeling extremely angry with his friend. Zoicite started putting his books in his bag, and was currently waiting for his computer to shut down.

"It has everything to do with you and Usagi. If you hurt her, her friends with retaliate and it could seriously jeopardise our relationships with her friends. If it were any other girl, I really wouldn't mind, but…"

"But what?" Mamoru whispered angrily, remembering that he was in a library and yelling would not be permitted. He turned to Nephrite. "Do you agree with him?" Nephrite threw up his hands to say that he was not getting involved in this.

"You have a history with this romantic triangle – Usagi, Saori and you at the point. You can't play one against the other in the hopes of making Usagi jealous. It's not fair on either of them. Saori loves you, you can see it pouring out of every pore in her body. Usagi will be upset if you choose that particular girl to date right now." Mamoru looked like he was about to start arguing with his blonde friend but the latter just picked up his laptop and hoisted his book bag on one shoulder before leaving without saying another word. Mamoru turned to his friend.

"I'm not ruining your chances with Makoto and his with Ami, am I?" Nephrite sighed, not really sure how to respond.

"Dymi, we've had this unspoken rule in our friendship group about putting each other before women. However, I think this time, Zoicite and I have found something… dare I call it special? Unique? Different? I don't know how to call it." Mamoru shifted uncomfortably in his seat knowing full well what Nephrite meant. The brunette boy didn't seem to notice. "Thing is, Zoi has a point. You, Saori and Usagi have a past and…well…it didn't end well for either of you. Ordinarily, Zoi and me dating your ex's best friends wouldn't be a problem, but they're like us. Something holds them together, obviously nothing as powerful as our bond, but a bond is there nevertheless. If Usagi and you don't get along…it could have repercussions on our respective relationships and I…I don't know how Zoi and I would choose."

His friend had given him a lot to think about and mull over on his way to lectures. He didn't pay attention to one word his lecturer was saying and, for the first time in years, Mamoru Chiba hadn't taken any notes.

* * *

Rei stretched her arms high above her head and cracked her neck left and right. She had gotten many obvious stares from the guys in her part of the library but, as usual, she paid no attention to them. Her mind was on the party tonight and what she was going to wear so that she could get her neighbour to notice her.

She thought of all her clothes and started eliminating choices. _Maybe I need to buy new clothes._ The beautiful ex-priestess was still deep in thought when she felt someone approaching her. She shook her head and looked toward the left, her spirits lifting, despite her better judgement, when she saw Kai coming toward her.

"Rei!" The girl's smile was infectious, and Rei couldn't help but smile and got up to hug the girl. The girl's boyfriend was sulkily following her. "Mind if we sit with you?" Rei shook her head. Kai turned and smiled to her boyfriend.

"Hi." Rei smiled at the scowling boy hoping to elicit some sort of response from him. Kai looked at the girl and grinned as she sat opposite her.

"Oh, don't mind Jed. He…he got a bad grade on one of his essays with very judgemental comments." Rei looked over at the boy who had opened his politics textbook and started writing on a notepad.

"Mind if I read it?" He snapped up to look Rei straight in the eyes, disbelief lingering in his eyes.

"Why?" Rei frowned at the content in his voice.

"I want to see what your teachers wrote and if it's true." Jadeite took out his essay from his bag but held back in passing them over to her.

"I would get a politics textbook, after all, you are studying art history." Rei just raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him before holding out her hand for the essay.

"Rei, you should really get a textbook. There's a really good one that explains all the words real easy." Rei gave a half smile at the girl.

"I can manage." She set the essay in front of her and started reading, eyes furrowed, lips pursed. It took a while; Kai was busy writing something in a notebook, while Jadeite was pretending to read and take notes but was, instead, watching her read his essay. He couldn't describe her expression, perhaps because this was the first time he had given his essay over to someone else to read other than his youngest brother. Kai had read his essays plenty of times when she was bored while he studied, but she kept asking questions and looking words up in a dictionary – while he should have been grateful that she took the time to read his essay, he got a bit annoyed at her constant ignorance.

"Well…" Both Jadeite and Kai looked up, the former making a show of finishing a non-existent sentence before looking up. "I see why your teacher gave you such a low grade. Professor Robins is notoriously known for being a really picky teacher. You've given many examples of political theory, their successes and their failures, but you should have just focused on a couple and gone really deep into the issues of how they succeeded and why they failed. You can't fit six political systems in a three thousand word essay – if you had perhaps done a thesis on this, maybe you could have gotten by. Essays are meant to get to the core of an issue and in politics, you can go on and on. Outlining the failure of the Soviet Union during the cold war is massive – you can go on and on and never really finish talking about it. What you really need is the juice of the story. As a sociologist, one could argue the beauty of Lenin's ideology and the change in society when he came to power. He drew on Marxism and was able to implement theory into practice. Sociological-wise, Lenin was an inspiration to his people; they were able to see Marxism in action, and the good kind. Socialism was frowned upon by the capitalistic West – for the first time, communism was being seen as a good thing, until Stalin came about. Psychologists can look at Lenin's action as a way of forcing his ideology amongst his people – they didn't know any better, so they saw communism as the only real, and substantial, way of life. He was the leader and they were the followers – I don't really know the psychological term for it, but there is an experiment that shows how, and why, people follow leaders. As a politician you look at all of these and see how they work together to make the perfect state. Lenin drew on Marxism to create Leninism – a political theory that is still talked about today. But again, doing that is a whole thesis, in of itself, so you whittle down. Why was Communist Russia flourishing under Lenin? Use Leninsm, Marxism, the people, the time they were living in and bring it all together to write your paper. Remember, you only have 2,500 words, so you have to choose one aspect and drain every single last drop of juice you can." Rei took a final breath from her monologue, put down Jadeite's essay and tucked a strand of hair that had come loose during her passionate speech. Kai was looking at her with a mix feeling of admiration and, Rei could see, a little jealousy. But the beautiful girl didn't let it stop her from smiling widely and congratulating her friend on her perspective.

"Oh my God REI! You sound SO SMART!" Kai jumped out of her chair and rushed around the table to throw her arms around her new friend. The latter girl was stunned by this show of affection, but grinned and hugged the girl back.

"How do you know all of this stuff?" Kai's eyes were wide Rei actually feared her eyeballs popping out.

"I just do" Was all she replied. Jadeite looked at her suspiciously and the look in her eyes made him wonder what she could be possibly thinking of. She was still smiling at his girlfriend, but it didn't match her eyes which were full of sadness and regret. He would have given up all the money in his bank just to know what she was thinking of right now.

Rei was indeed still smiling at the girl but her mind wandered off to a past love – Kaidou. For some reason, the faint scent of Casablanca lilies seemed to waft through the library. She soon shook herself out of her trance, the scent of the flowers dissipating slowly, and shot Jadeite a concerned look after noticing him staring at her. She ignored his stare and turned to Kai talking about the party tonight and whether she wanted to get ready with them. Kai graciously accepted.


	8. Chapter 8

It was 8 o'clock, the exact time the party was about to start but none of the girls were ready. With each girl having their own en-suite bedroom, it was actually quite a feat that none of them were on time, but as Minako always said 'showing up fashionably late made you the belle of the ball'. Usagi was freshly showered, wrapped in a towel and staring at her cupboard contemplating which dress she would wear. Ami was busy finishing an essay, curlers long forgotten in her hair and dressed in her favourite pyjamas. Rei hadn't even showered yet, which was why she was being yelled at by a fuming Sailor Jupiter in her bathrobe, as she was putting the finishing touches on a virtual layout of the new gallery in the museum she worked in.

"Hold your horses, Jupiter, I'm nearly done!"

"Rei, you have to put some time and effort if you want to look fabulous." Obviously the wrong words to say since Rei turned to her best friend with a stony glare.

"Get out of my room before I singe all your clothes in your cupboard again." Re-living a memory Jupiter hoped to forget, she quickly scampered off to her room and let Rei move at her own pace.

Minako was still sitting at her dressing table in a shift, contemplating what to do with her hair. Thankfully, Rei had brought over Kai who was a whizz at hairstyling.

"I think you should go for a simple, over the shoulder braid." Minako tried to envision herself in the style Kai was offering to do for her and smiled as she imagined a long, elegant braid coming over her bare shoulder as she would be wearing a red, bedazzled, tube top and simple black capris (Kai had also helped her pick out an outfit). Minako turned to Kai and smiled.

"I love it! I think we should add soft curls to your hair and just let it loose." Kai bent over to look in the mirror and grinned as she thought of her long hair cascading down her bare back since the top she was planning to wear was held together at the back by mere strings while the front went all the way down, mid-thigh paired off with black leather trousers (the latter courtesy of Minako and her wardrobe).

Ami, after realising that time had gone by so fast, quickly pulled the curlers out and cringed as she looked at herself in the mirror; she had let her hair grow up to her shoulder, longer than what she would normally have it, because she couldn't find the time to go to the salon and sort it out. Thankfully, her alias retained her cropped hair-do and looked more familiar than the girl staring back at her from the mirror. She sighed and turned away to find something suitable to wear as Minako and Usagi would surely take note of what she chose. She looked longingly at her pyjamas before taking them off and putting on instead a pair of faded blue skinny jeans, silver pumps and a white crop top (courtesy of Usagi last Christmas). She looked at herself in the mirror and contemplated her make-up; she was thinking of simple eye makeup with plain lip balm but Jupiter had other ideas. The tall girl burst into Ami's room, still clad in just a towel, eyes blazing.

"Mars just threatened to burn my wardrobe… again!" Ami just laughed as she applied her lip balm.

"Did you tell her that she had to replace all her red dresses with a more calming colour, like green, because it seemed to you that the colour red in all her daily dressing was the cause of her anger management issues? Jupiter, you know better than to tease Rei on the night of the full moon when she is on her period!" Ami scolded. She was about to apply a simple light brown eye liner on when her friend stopped her. Wordlessly, the tall girl shoved the shorter one firmly in her desk chair and rummaged in the make-up case (practically brand new but state of the art since it was a present from Minako) and started poking and prodding around completely disregarding Ami's protests and followed on from their previous conversation.

"But we're synched, so she's not on her period. Plus, last time she burned half the clothes in my wardrobe – there is no justification for that!" Ami grinned. "We really have to find her someone, and fast!" Jupiter smiled as she applied the final coat of lipstick on Ami's lips and pulled back to admire her work. "You look gorgeous!" She picked up the mirror from Ami's desk and held it up in front of her so Ami could inspect her work. The girl was surprised to see the simple makeup was actually really good; Makoto had put some blush on her pale cheeks bringing some colour to her face, she had outlined her eyes in a grey eyeliner and brushed her eyelids with a sparkly pink eye shadow. Her lips were covered in a pale pink lipstick with a shimmery gloss as a finishing touch. As the tall girl exited the room, the other one turned back to her book and tried to find a comfortable position at her desk to continue reading until all of her friends were ready.

Usagi was still indecisive over what outfit she wanted to wear that night. She thought about asking her friends, but they were also running late and, judging by the shouts she had heard earlier, some of the girls were stressed. She sifted through various jumpers before deciding on a simple, oversized, grey jumper and grabbing a pair of black skinny jeans as if on impulse. She held the outfit in front of her as she reviewed it standing in front of her full length mirror. While her outfit was lacking a lot of colour, which she usually was all for, she decided to go with it and dressed as fast as she could. She brushed her long, silvery hair and was in the process of styling it in her usual way when she stopped and thought of a certain neighbour who was probably going to be at the party – 'can't have him thinking I'm still immature Usako he knew at school'. Instead of tying it up, she let her hair loosed around her bare shoulders – since her jumper was a bit big on her, it kept coming off her shoulder. She contemplated makeup ideas that would reflect her new, mature self.

Meanwhile, Makoto, who had already planned her look beforehand and had everything laid out on her bed, was dressed and ready in no time. She was impatient to go over to Nephrite's and see him since they had barely seen each other in three days due to their busy schedules. She was wearing jeans with green hunter boots and a pale pink sweater that Rei had knitted for her one Christmas during her rebellious stage against the capitalistic bureaucratic custom of buying presents from major companies that employed children to make their clothes while paying them next to nothing. She picked a piece of lint off the shoulder and looked at the jumper in the mirror – it was actually really nice, Rei had outdone herself on her homemade presents save for a few holes here and there where Rei got frustrated and lost a few knitting points. Satisfied with her outfit, Jupiter applied minimal makeup and made her way to the door but not before peeking into Rei's room to see whether her friend had made her way to bathroom or not (she had). Jupiter smiled as she made her way to the boys' apartment.

* * *

Nephrite was anxiously waiting for his girlfriend to come to their apartment because he wanted to give her the pre-Christmas present he had gotten for her. His brothers (except for Kunzite who never involved himself in matters like those) thought he was crazy for getting a girl he was dating less than a year such an extravagant Christmas present, but the boy was adamant in getting his girlfriend something amazing and that he knew she would appreciate. He also knew for a fact that Zoicite had gotten Ami an equally extravagant Christmas present of another kind so his brother was just being his usual hypocritical self. As he paced up and down his room he took a look of himself in the mirror and sighed; he was dressed quite geekily for a party, what with a pale blue sweater vest over a white shirt and light brown khakis he didn't seem like he would be the life of the party – not that he cared. In fact, he wished he wasn't going to the party and instead preferred to spend some time with his girlfriend since they were apart for the past three days more than they were together.

Meanwhile, Mamoru was applying his aftershave as a finishing touch to his outfit – a black, form fitting t-shirt and light brown khakis with white sneakers. He wistfully thought of the beautiful blonde neighbour and how she would be dressed in colours and have on ostentatious jewellery which would make her the centre of attention. He placed his watch on and gave himself one last do-over before picking a book from his bookshelf and going into the living room to wait for his friends to be done.

The boys had agreed to go together which infuriated Kunzite to no end. Truth be told, he was regretting saying yes to the party, but when the invitation had come, his friend and brothers made a sarcastic quip about potential excuses he would come up in lieu of going to the party – other times, this behaviour would not have irked him, but he was adamant of proving them wrong about his anti-social behaviour. Recently, their usual quips about his anti-social behaviour had started to annoy him Any reasonable person would have associated the annoyance as a way of him perceiving the real difference he and certain blonde could not be together since they were so difference – but there were no reasonable persons around him willing to go up against his wrath. He dressed in a smart outfit: casual jeans with a crisp, white shirt and a blue blazer with gold buttons. He hated dressing up for parties, but his brothers always had impeccable taste and it would be in bad form to show up to a party dressed in his usual slacks and t-shirt with a hoodie (depending on how cold it was).

Jadeite was already dressed in a comfortable emerald green sweater and tan slacks. He was currently sitting on his bed, back on the wooden frame, attempting to read his book as his brothers got ready. He slowly found his mind wandering to the events earlier today; he had been in a foul mood because of his grade and was, for once, grateful to be meeting Kai because she always seemed to lift his spirits. That girl was an enigma to him; not that she was complicated in any way, or held any secrets, in fact, she was almost like all the other girls he had dated in the past, but she had something different. What started out as just an advantageous match for her, must have changed over time.

He remembered how she would giggle infuriatingly on their first date at every little joke he had apparently made (not that he remembered making any). But she was a beautiful girl, and if Jadeite appreciated anything in this world, it was beauty. So he decided to give her another chance and her demeanour changed as he gave her more and more chances. She never giggled anymore, but laughed whole-heartedly. Her love for expensive restaurants had diminished the more times he took her out and even agreed to go with him to a diner (she looked most out of place in her chanel dress amongst the white-washed walls of the supposed American style diner) because he had heard they served the best steaks. She had changed the more they went out into someone he could depend on – for example, when he got the bad grade, she couldn't understand what was wrong with the essay, but she smiled and told him everything was going to be all right. His thoughts turned Kai into a fuzzy outline before re-focusing to a different image: Rei. There was another enigma – a more complex one in which his feelings did not factor into the fact that he didn't know what was so complicated about her. While Rei seemed to have a good relationship with his current girlfriend, she was still cold and distant with him – a defensive mechanism she had with most people except for her friends and those she worked with apparently. Jadeite tried to block his mind from further puzzles and turned back to the murder mystery he had been reading before he filled his thoughts of two girls. It was actually quite good.

There wasn't much to say about Zoicite getting ready; he had thrown on a plain white t-shirt with the logo of a famous clothes brand, dark blue jeans and loafers while letting his hair dry naturally into unusually pointy spikes. He was currently immersed in a biology project which required him to look at fungus daily under a microscope – his bathroom was a breeding ground for a certain type of bacteria, while various other places in his room were home to several petri dishes. He was still logging the growth spurt of the bathroom bacteria when his older brother Nephrite warned him that it was time to start getting ready. Impatiently, he got ready as fast as he could before going back to his microscope and 'ooing' and 'ahing' at his results. He scribbled some notes in his messy handwriting in a massive folder that seemed to serve as a log for his experiments, but it looked more like a folder holding together bits and pieces of paper with random scribbles always written in the centre for some reason. He then wrote the same notes on a separate piece of paper, with neat diagrams and using an actual ruler to draw lines in his table, as if he was writing up a report for school. This party would have usually been his idea of fun but he found an anomaly in his bathtub bacteria that made him excited and he wanted to share the results with a particular neighbour of his. This finding was exactly the push he needed to write that paper he had been meaning to write for a long time and finally achieve his dream of being published before the age of 25.

* * *

Makoto texted Nephrite as she left the apartment in the hopes of avoiding ringing the doorbell. She wouldn't have minded Zoicite answering the door, but he rarely did as most of his free time was spent in his room or with Ami. It was the rest of the apartments' inhabitants that she thought seemed to find her annoying; Kunzite always opened the door, took a look at her and just let her in quietly; Jadeite opened the door, gave a half grin and yelled for his brother before leaving – he didn't even invite her into the house; Mamoru, although she knew he didn't find her annoying, he always seemed restless around her. He would invite her in, offer her tea or coffee (and for Mamoru to offer his private stash of coffee, she must be special) and just sit in a restless manner with her until Nephrite came.

She was happy to note upon opening her door that Nephrite was already waiting for her in his apartment.

"GIRLS, I AM GOING OVER TO NEPHRITE'S! SEE YOU UPSTAIRS!" Nephrite heard the girls murmuring through the walls and grinned – it was like his apartment, only with girls. Makoto skipped across the hallway, to her boyfriend and firmly kissed him on the lips – he loved the fact that she always took the initiative.

"I have a surprise for you." Makoto let out an unusual giggle as she followed her boyfriend to his room. She had never felt like this before and it scared her how hard and fast she was falling for the person standing in front of her. She waited patiently as he went to his desk drawer and retrieved an envelope. Confused, Makoto took them from his outstretched hand and opened it tentatively. It was a train ticket to Kyoto and a key, Makoto assumed, to a family retreat house. Her eyes welled up but she swore not to cry in front of Nephrite so instead she hugged him tightly in lieu of saying any words. He grinned as he hugged her back. "Apparently, this time of year, deer literally come up to our windows!" He sounded so excited that Makoto forgot her tears of joy and grinned at the man in front of her acting like a 5 year-old.

"When do we go?" She tried finding the date on her train ticket but it just said that it was valid for one ride in December.

"Well, I wanted to get you a surprise but I didn't want to inconvenience you and I couldn't get you to tell me your exact plans for December, so I am leaving it all up to you." Makoto laughed and pulled him into a kiss thanking her lucky stars for leading her to Nephrite. The door opened to reveal a grinning Zoicite.

"I would say that I am sorry for not knocking, but I'm not. These idiots barged into my room and disrupted me from my experiment. You two can continue my future as an uncle later – right now, we have a party to get to." If looks could kill, Zoicite would be one dead blonde – instead of blushing, like most girls in her position would have, Makoto glared at Zoicite, rendering the poor boy speechless.

"What's taking so long?" Jadeite pushed the door further not noticing his brother's look of shock. "Come on man! Mamoru is pacing up and down and Kunzite keeps muttering appropriate time frames when they both can leave." Makoto grinned. She wanted to ask why the oldest brother, and friend, were going when they obviously so didn't want to but she had a feeling that the answer lay in the apartment opposite.

"Well, I'm ready so I can leave whenever you guys want." She looked at Nephrite, who just nodded his head and followed the other two out into the living room.

"Finally!" Kunzite muttered and sauntered to the door opening it to reveal five girls who were too busy trying to find a key to lock the door behind them.

"If we all forgot our key, then what's the point of locking it since no one can even open it?" The shorter of the blondes was telling the taller one who was too busy looking in her purse hoping by some miracle that the key had appeared.

"You baka, if we all forgot our key, then that means we can't go home after the party!" Rei could feel her infamous temper taking over – she wasn't angry at the girls for forgetting their keys, but the two blondes were so over-exuberant in getting her and Ami out the house, that they both forgot their clutches with their respective keys in.

"Come on Rei. Let's go to the party, have fun, and when we come back, Mercury can do some of her mojo to get us back in." the blunette looked horrified.

"Usagi, it is not _mojo_ that I do, but rather use advance technology to pick the locks. Also…" Before she could continue, Makoto coughed loudly, signalling to the girls that they were not alone. Five girls turned to look at the small group standing in front of an open door – four of them had a look that clearly read _guilty_, while Kai, who was too busy enjoying herself in the company of her new friends, noticed her boyfriend and skipped happily to him giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"I have a key…which you can use. Now, let's go upstairs for some fun!" Makoto grinned as she tugged Nephrite toward the elevator. She heard Ami whisper to Usagi,

"Furthermore, my advanced technology is not meant to be used as a means of breaking an entering into homes. That is a violation of people's privacy." Usagi laughed and whispered back rather loudly,

"It's our house! Whose privacy would you be infringing on anyway?" Before Ami could reply, Zoicite had put his arm around her and gently coaxed her into a conversation about his new results – he had noticed her getting a little red in the face and thought it was appropriate to intervene. It took him a while, though, to register her rising temper since he was so infatuated with her appearance. While she had always been beautiful to him, today there was something different and Zoicite liked it.

Meanwhile, the other boys couldn't stop staring at their neighbours either. Kunzite looked at Mamoru and an unspoken sentiment passed through them _It's going to be a long night…_

* * *

A/N

This is going to be a long one guys because I have to apologise for taking so long in updating and that the update isn't exactly my best work. You know that phrase, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Well today, after feeling that I had enough of whatever the heck curveballs life was throwing my way, I went to the supermarket, bought 2kg of lemons and made the best damn lemonade I have had in a long time. It tasted sweet and cool, just how I like it and it gave me the motivation I needed to finish this chapter.

While it isn't my best work, this chapter means a lot to me because, yours truly, was a completely different person when it was first being written. I have changed so much in the past few months, I find solace in going through my fanfiction stories and reading the words I wrote so long ago. They bring me comfort, knowing that I may have changed, but there is some semblance of myself in these stories. I have poured my everything into every word I write; whether it's a bad chapter, or a good one, these words are what make me go on.

You make me go on, my dearest reviewers. I may sound corny, but there is nothing better than being appreciated for doing something that you love. These past few months I have had to find myself and I have had to come to terms with being changed – don't imagine the worst thing that could have happened, but rather a 20 something year old who has to deal with too much in such a small amount of time. Thus far I have been hiding behind the written word and a 15 inch laptop screen watching the next episode Netflix has to offer; today I got the courage to type and finish what I started with a promise that I can go on, and I will. No matter how long it takes me, this story will be done.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

She was breath-taking. That was the only hyphenated word Mamoru could think of describing the girl currently standing in the elevator next to him. He sneaked another look at her; she was wearing drab colours, but on her they managed to look regal. She usually sported brightly coloured makeup, but today she had gone for a dramatic look with heavy kohl around her eyes, dark eye shadow and blood red lipstick that could tempt any man to sin. Mamoru noticed that she held herself differently too; she wasn't slouching as much and strutted in her heels with a confidence she didn't have before. Perhaps their breakup had done her good, despite what it had done him, and for that Mamoru couldn't hold it against her. She had grown up, matured, so much in their time apart that he wasn't sure he was in love with same girl any more. She had determination, resilience and…something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

The elevator doors opened to reveal the party had spilled into the hallway. Music was pumping, energy was rising and people were laughing and talking as if they had known each other all their lives. Kunzite let out a little groan at the prospect of having to socialise amidst all this heightened energy; Jadeite just raised an eyebrow and gave a half smile; Mamoru was still slowly inhaling and exhaling trying to drown out his thoughts of Usagi; and Zoicite and Nephrite were too busy talking to their girlfriends (the former had unofficially dubbed her so) to realise that they had arrived. Meanwhile, the three girls, Kai, Minako and Usagi, took one look at the party and grinned while Rei managed to smile at Usagi and Minako's incessant grinning. Usagi smiled at her friends and took charge, swaying her hips to the music while walking towards the open door. This time, it wasn't just Mamoru staring, but rather every person (both males and females) staring at the energetic girl; the former boy just put on his sternest glare and stared at every potential guy who would have the gall to hit on his ex.

Usagi, Minako and Rei looked around trying to find the hosts and give them the bottle of wine the girls had gotten them as a present. Rei finally found Zach and beckoned her friends to follow her.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Zach smiled as Minako grabbed the wine from Usagi's hands and passed it to him.

"We're fashionably late." Usagi laughed which prompted the group to laugh too since it was so infectious.

"Well, you certainly do put the fashion in the word." Zach winked at Minako.

"We dress to impress." She winked back. Rei looked around hoping to find his brother but she didn't have to look far since he was already on his way towards them.

"My, my, you certainly do impress." He clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder and looked at each of the girls, his stare lingering on Rei longer than the rest. Usagi took note of this and decided to make herself scarce, hoping to leave her friends alone with potential dates.

"I…er…I have to… I want a drink." She started to walk towards the bar but Jack stopped her.

"Please… let me. What do you girls want to drink?" Usagi was about to protest but Minako had already replied,

"What's available?" Zach grinned.

"Our friend is a bartender and he makes the best drinks." At this Usagi frowned – she made the best drinks. The best this bartender could do was good drinks. "So we have alcohol for every drink."

"Then we'll have two cosmos and a martini with a twist." Jack turned to Rei.

"I guess the martini is for you?" She smiled.

"How did you know?"

"It's in a gentleman's nature to know the drinks of a beautiful girl." Minako and Usagi tried to stifle a laugh at his corny reply.

"I could like cosmos just as much as I like martinis." Rei replied, a defiant look that both of her friends knew well. And there she was, defensive Rei, turning down a potentially good man – her friends sighed. Jadeite had heard the exchange from a few feet away and wanted to laugh, but couldn't or else his brother would know he wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. Jack, however, seemed unfazed and just grinned at Rei.

"You really know how to take a compliment don't you, you Rei of sunshine." Usagi laughed and so would have Minako, but she was already following Zach to the bar.

"And I know how to notice corny puns." Jack's grin widened.

"Got that did you?"

"I'm not stupid." The girl sniffed. Usagi marvelled at the boy's patience – any other boy would have slapped her by now.

"I never said you were."

"But you insinuated it."

"When?"

"Got that did you?" Rei mimicked in a silly voice, mocking the man in front of her. "I'm not an airhead."

"I would never have guessed that." Zach and Mina came back with the drinks while Rei just looked at Jack confused – he wasn't backing down.

"Cosmo for you." Zach gave Usagi a pink coloured drink in a clear plastic cup. "And a martini with a twist for you." He handed Rei her drink and looked confused at the look the girl was giving her brother.

"I hope Ted stirred and didn't shake it." Rei's jaw dropped slightly which prompted Usagi to give her a small nudge.

"I can drink shaken drinks." Jack took a sip of his drink before replying cockily.

"And endure 'bruising the gin'?"

"Are you mocking me?" She took a sip of her drink and was glad to find that it had indeed been stirred and not shaken.

"Nope." He flashed her a grin before taking a rather large gulp of his drink. "Wanna dance?" Rei just laughed and followed him to the makeshift dance floor.

"How about you" Zach turned to Mina who graciously accepted but not before turning to her friend and exchanged a few meaningful glances which roughly translated into a conversation that went somewhat like this:

_You ok with me abandoning you?_

_Of course! GO! Have fun!_

_Thanks so much. Go find someone to dance – lots of cute guys at the party_

_Well then, no need to worry about me then. _

_See you later._

Usagi looked wistfully at her two friends having fun and turned to see whether she could spot her other friends; Makoto was in a deep conversation with Nephrite and a man from the fifth floor about something while Zoicite was busy showing Ami something on a piece of paper, both of them seemed to be very excited for some reason. The blonde girl sighed and thought about going to the bar and waiting for someone to ask her to dance but before she got the chance, Masaaki came up to her smiling.

"Hey Usagi." Usagi grinned.

"Hey Masaaki, how are you?" The boy turned to the girl who had come with him and smiled.

"I'm really good. I wanted to tell you thanks for the advice." The girl next to him blushed. Usagi smiled but was confused.

"I wanted to thank you too." The girl spoke really softly and Usagi had to really strain her hearing to hear her over the music. "Masaaki finally asked me out yesterday." She gazed at the man next to her with a look of pure adoration making Usagi a little jealous for not having someone to look at her like that (although, to be honest, all she had to do was look behind her and see a certain black-haired boy giving her the same look).

"Thanks." Masaaki gave her a friendly hug before following his date to the dance floor. A few seconds later, someone else approached the blonde girl, someone she didn't know.

"Hi." He had a really nice smile and, Usagi noted, they matched his eyes.

"Hi back."

"I'm Chase." Usagi noted the foreign name and looked confused and wanted to ask, but shook his outstretched hand instead. "I'm half Japanese and my mum got to pick my name so she chose an American one to keep in touch with my dad's roots." They shook hands longer than usual not being able to keep their eyes off each other.

"It's a lovely name though." Chase laughed.

"Thanks." He waited for her to tell him her name, but she was too preoccupied still shaking his hand and staring at him. "Er…your name?" Usagi quickly took back her hand and smacked her forehead.

"Silly me! Haha. My name is Usagi." Chase laughed at her exuberance. Usagi took a sip of her drink and contemplated asking Chase to dance but she didn't get the opportunity as he started talking.

"So what do you do?"

"I'm studying political sciences at the university. You?"

"I study chemical engineering at KO University."

"Wow, that sounds amazing. I'm guessing you have a lot of work." And Usagi forgot about wanting to dance and instead was drawn into a conversation getting to know Chase.

* * *

Makoto and Nephrite were currently in a deep conversation with one of Nephrite's classmates who was alternating between asking about the coursework both boys had to give in and getting cooking advice from Makoto. She was now telling him what to cook for a special dinner since he wanted to mark a three year anniversary with his girlfriend.

"So when you prepare the chicken, a lot of the time, people think that it's all about how you cook it. Which is true. But the taste of the chicken also depends on how it's been prepared before. Make sure you put it in the fridge in a sealed bag and that the air around it doesn't come into contact with anything that has a strong smell."

"The air around it?" the boy looked confused. Nephrite laughed – Makoto had a system when cooking and she knew precisely how to execute the tasks needed, but couldn't really explain how.

"Well, uncooked food has a tendency to absorb a lot of smells around it. If you put an exposed bit of chicken in a fridge that has an open pot of curry, the resulting taste won't be the same."

"Oh, now I get it. So I'll keep it sealed in the bag that the butcher gives me."

"That would be best. Defrost it a day before, but keep it in the fridge and make sure that it stays sealed until the time comes for you to cook it. Also, make sure the butcher cleans the chicken before giving it to you – it's a dirty job cleaning the insides and usually it's done upon purchase. Then rub butter all over the chicken and make sure to get some under the thin layer of skin too so that it gives it that nice crisp whilst cooking." The boy was furiously trying to follow the chef's advice but it proved futile. She was just going on and on about how to cook the perfect chicken and his friend, her boyfriend, was just looking at her with a doting look. "And then make sure that the chicken cooks until it's brown on the outside, then cover it up and let it cook at a slower temperature until it…" She could see the boy furrowing his brow in confusion but something stopped him from asking questions – perhaps it was pride.

"How about Makoto and I join you in the afternoon and help you prepare the meal?" Makoto looked at her boyfriend as he spoke and nodded excitedly at his proposal. The boy opposite them looked relieved.

"Thank you so much. It would be much appreciated." The girl was thankful for her boyfriend's suggestion because she hadn't even gotten to the difficult part – making the cake. Nephrite's friend swiftly changed the subject from cooking.

"So where did you two meet?" He asked before taking a sip of his drink. The couple smiled at each other lovingly before Nephrite answered.

"We're neighbour's. I saw her when we first moved in and… well… here we are." Makoto grinned.

"He couldn't keep his eyes off me." The boy laughed.

"Nephrite does have a way with beautiful women." Almost as soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't. Nephrite glared at his friend while Makoto continued smiling.

"Come on Nephrite, you can't be angry at your friend for saying the truth." She squeezed his hand as a means of assuring him that she was not angry and turned to his friend. "Tell me more about Nephrite before I met him." The boy looked at Nephrite for confirmation and an unspoken agreement that the more…amorous antics of the latter boy were to be kept out of the conversation.

"Well Makoto, you are dating one of the smartest guys in our class. When the position of TA opened, he didn't even think of applying, but the professor was so hell-bent on having him as his TA that he offered him TWICE the amount advertised."

"Wow. I didn't know you were the smart." At this, her smile faltered a little bit. She had once dated a guy in school who was always in the top five of his class – the relationship failed, despite her still wanting to date him, because he realised that his future was not heading in the same direction as hers. She wanted to settle down, own her own restaurant, while he wanted to go out an explore the world, earn a PhD in America. She had already seen the world and the galaxy, she didn't need more. She never stopped to think that it was perhaps the guys' ignorance in who she really was, which was the reason her self-esteem was always low; she had seen, felt, endured more than they could ever see and would ever know but she couldn't show them the side of her that was adventurous and free-spirited.

* * *

Minako was having the time of her life; she was dancing dance after dance, not really talking to the man opposite her. Not that either of them cared – they both knew that what they were looking for at the party was not a long term solution. Kunzite, on the other hand, was trying to get out of talking with his neighbour, Mara, who was currently telling him the names of all of her cats – both dead and alive. She was a pretty-ish girl, but she couldn't command his attention for anything in the world.

"Mittens was the fourth fatality of the postman's truck, so I put in a complaint at the bureau because it was strange having the same person drive over all my cats, and they changed the postman. The new postman, thankfully, likes cats and even helps me on occasion when Fluffy gets stuck in trees. The fire department won't respond to my calls any more about any of my cats being stuck in trees, but they did send me a nice, sturdy ladder for Christmas last year to help me out. I don't use it because I am afraid of heights, but Dave, the new post man, he uses it and says that it's a really good brand." She then started listing all of the things each of her cats was allergic to and how difficult it was to find food at the pet store that accommodated all their allergies. Kunzite tuned her out and looked over to spy on the happy couple dancing their fifth dance.

He couldn't understand what Minako saw in him; sure he was ok looking (he didn't notice the jealous look Minako got from most of the women in the room since she was dancing with one of the most good looking guys) but he was the guy's TA at university and knew him quite well. He was always asking questions which could have been answered had he read the required reading – this, in Kunzite's book, not only made him stupid, but also a time-waster. If there was one thing that Kunzite hated, it was people who wasted time and those who had nothing better to do than waste valuable time. He goofed off in most tutorials that Kunzite taught; he was one of those people that liked being the centre of attention and talking with his friends about things not relevant to the subject. What was Minako doing with someone like him? _As opposed to with someone like you? _The little voice in his head sounded an awful lot like his best friends' voice which irked him for some reason.

Back in Boston, when he realised who his new friend was at the beginning of their Masters, he had had many conversations with him about how he perceived relationships with women. Endymion was more of a one woman man, while Kunzite went from girl to girl to satiate his needs. Their nightly conversations turned into a lecture from Endymion about the way his friend was to treat women – not that he had ever treated them badly, but he was building a reputation for himself that he would not want to have. He was trying to find someone, someone he had known long ago, in forgotten dreams, but he couldn't and it was that need to find her again that drove him to bed after bed. For some reason, this girl attracted him, and it wasn't a pure physical attraction; he admired her grace, her beauty, her intelligence and there was something about her that he knew worked well with his personality. He stole another look at the girl holding his attention and something clenched in his heart; she was laughing and leaning in closer to hear what her dance partner was telling her while the latter was looking at her with a hungry look in his eyes. Kunzite felt as if he should intervene, but propriety stopped him. Also the fact that Mara had now gone off the topic of her cats and was talking about the colour of her house which she was contemplating changing, but she didn't know if she would like the new change.

* * *

Mamoru was looking at Usagi, but in a different way to his friend was looking at hers. He knew that Usagi wanted to explore new things and meet new people, but she would ultimately end up with him – perhaps it was out of arrogance or of what he knew about the future; perhaps it was also just wishful thinking that she would finally come back to him and settle into the relationship he had always wanted for the both of them. He could remember the days in her final year at school when she was struggling to balance school work and senshi duties. After a night of fighting, she would go to his house to try and patch up any wounds before going home (this was before she got the courage to tell her parents who she truly was). He remembered her sitting on his couch covered from head to toe in bruises while he would dab the more serious wounds and dress them as he learned in medical school. Then, she would close her eyes to rest while he would cook something light for a midnight snack. They would both then sit together on the couch, in silence because there was nothing to say after a youma attack but recover from the experience, and eat. She would then fall asleep on the couch, head in his lap, as he contemplated the future; when dawn broke he would pick her up carefully and make sure she always woke up in her bed at home to avoid her family getting suspicious.

It was nights like those that he missed – not the attacks, or the aching muscles that came after the attack, but rather the closeness they both shared. She was usually a bubbly girl, always flitting around his apartment, talking about her day and whatever new video game she was playing. She would then challenge him to a game and he would lose because no one could rival her gaming. He turned back to his best friend and his girlfriend as they were talking about his experiments and his upcoming trip to Nagoya.

"These results look really promising!" Mamoru scrunched up his noise in horror as he saw Ami reading Zoicite's messy handwriting – he marvelled at her attempts.

"So what exactly are you going to discuss?" Zoicite launched into a monologue about what he hoped to discuss with the doctor, and Ami listened intently. Mamoru just wished he could understand what was going on in his friend's head to be talking about fungi in the middle of a party. Feeling very bored, he attempted to make his way over to his best friend who seemed to be talking with someone who looked like their upstairs neighbour.

"Hello Kunzite" His friend gave him a look of relief as Mamoru joined them, while the neighbour gave him a look of absolute contempt, Mamoru chose to ignore it. "So, what are we talking about?" He grinned at his friend, and could feel the stare their neighbour was giving him.

"Kunzite and I were talking about the beautiful weather we've been having." Mamoru scrunched up his nose.

"Hail and snow…treading through sludge day after day for the past two weeks…a biting wind that never seems to subside? What's to like?" Kunzite stifled a laugh.

"Winter is my favourite season." Mamoru chose to ignore the woman's comments since she was being quite insistent on it, although what could be nice about snow and cold was beyond him. Kunzite loved the cold, but he definitely did not see the current weather as the best Tokyo had to offer; these past two weeks, the whole household could hear him grumbling about old ladies slipping on the sludge and clutching on to him as a means of support and just not letting go once they saw who they had latched on to.

* * *

The night of the party seemed to be a success. Mina was still talking to Zach, two hours later.

"So, you're telling me that the horse just ran off?" Zach was nodded while Mina laughed.

"I was with Jack who wouldn't let me onto his horse, because she was being really temperamental so I had to walk home." Mina laughed even more loudly attracting odd looks from nearby dancers.

"Was Jack at least with you on this walk?" Zach shook his head.

"The traitor galloped ahead and left me to fend for myself in the middle of a forest!" The way he regaled the tale had Mina in stitches. She was about to tell him the story of the time Usagi left them in the middle of a hike to go try the 'best hot chocolate' in some stranger's hut up on the mountains – it took them three hours to find her just to find out that the guy did indeed have the best hot chocolate and it would have been great and all had he not been a youma luring victims into his lair with this trick (obviously she would have left the latter part out). However, before she could begin telling her story, she felt a buzzing on her wrist; confused, she looked at the other senshi, who should have felt a similar buzz on their respective wrists. The girls looked for each other in the party; Ami stopped talking to Zoicite mid-sentence, Usagi was about to take another drink but refused it when it came and Makoto was in the process of laughing at something Nephrite said – she was now frowning at her wrist. The girls all made pathetic excuses to the people they were speaking to and made their way to the door leaving their respective talking partners extremely perplexed at their vagueness. A certain black-haired boy noticed the girls' hurried absence and contemplated turning into his alias to help them out. However, he opted out of doing so because he had promised his generals he would never enter the battlefield alone; if he chose to enter this, everyone's cover would be blown and it wasn't time yet. If Sailor Moon was truly in trouble, he would feel it in the core of his heart and then damned be the promises he made to his friends.

* * *

Usagi held the flashing Moon rod in front of her, following the pulsing vibrations that got stronger as she neared the youma. The girls were following suit a few feet behind – this was the first youma they were meeting after their time on the Moon and they were implementing their new battle plans. First, Usagi would go in and assess the youma before going on to step two - giving orders to her senshi.

The youma was a big black ball of fur with no face, at least which could be seen, with six spider like legs, three on either side, protruding long and spindly pricking innocent bystanders into a deep sleep. A low rumble could be heard from it, but it spoke no words. The senshi transformed in their usual way; Sailor Moon stepped forward, ahead from the other senshi who had formed a line behind her, and jumped around the youma looking at how it was choosing its victims.

"Victims are chosen at random!" Usagi shouted. This meant that the youma's intent was to create chaos rather than target specific persons for whatever reason. "I have to find out why it's doing this!" She turned to the youma shouted. "AYE, big ugly black thing!" The shouting seemed to have gotten the attention of the spiderlike creature. It let go of a victim from an alarming height which prompted Jupiter to leap in the air and catch her to lessen her fall. As the creature made its way to Sailor Moon, the remaining Sailor Scouts ran to help the throng of people who were running away from the scene to a safe distance. Sailor Moon kept leaping around the creature, to keep its focus on her; as she was doing this, the youma was getting more and more agitated, seeming to forget the hoarde of people it could victimise in the hopes of getting the Scout its master wanted.

"Sailor Mercury, scan its brain!" The blue haired scout broke away from her colleagues, initiated scanning mode on her glasses and focused there where the youma's brain should have been. Instead of seeing a normal brain, with active synapses, she saw an empty hole.

"There's nothing!" She shouted to their leader. Sailor Moon nodded and took a final leap into a tree.

"It's a mechanical device shaped like a youma. I can't feel anything from it." The scouts looked at her, perplexed. Almost all of the youmas they had faced had some sort of emotional component – this one didn't.

"What does this mean?" Sailor Mars shouted to their leader as Sailor Venus led the last person to safety.

"Is someone controlling it?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Sailor Moon pointed her wand to the creature but nothing happened. "Must be! My powers are useless here!"

"BURNING MANDALA!" The creature turned to look at the raven haired senshi whose powers seemed useless as it created a force field around it deflecting the ball of fire.

"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN" The creature turned to the blonde beauty and caught the chain before it had a chance to strike the black thing – Venus' look of shock was the last thing the senshi saw before she fell to the ground from the vicious tug of war.

"MERCURY AQUA MIST!" With two senshi down, Sailor Mercury acted quickly hoping to shroud the creature in mist so Jupiter could hit it with thunder.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" Two senshi attacked consecutively in practiced expertise but the creature seemed to be ready for the attack and opened a suction portal to clear the mist before ejecting a metal rod to collect the thunder. The senshi convened on ground, all sporting a similar shocked look. Sailor Moon helped Sailor Venus to her feet.

"It's as if this thing has been programmed to deflect our powers!" Sailor Mercury said as she furiously typed on her keypad.

"So what do we do?" Sailor Moon turned sharply to her friend – she had never heard such a dejected tone from her bold friend.

"Mars…" Before their leader could finish her sentence, the creature stood at a standstill, almost as if it was receiving orders. Before any of the girls could do anything, the creature scurried like the wind on all 6 spindles before vanishing from their sight completely. The senshi tried to run after it, but they couldn't find it amongst the many alleys of Tokyo.

"Let's head to the Lunar Command Centre." Sailor Mercury looked at their leader.

"Sailor Moon, I would like to go first to analyse the data before we all meet." Sailor Moon just nodded before transforming back to Usagi.

"Ok, I'll go back home to change," they all looked at their sweat and blood stained clothes before nodding, "and then we'll all walk over to the Crown Arcade. Venus and I can play while Jupiter and Mars can sip milkshakes. Mercury, you analyse and tell us when you're ready." Mars was about to protest but Mercury shushed her.

"If Minako and Usagi come with me to the command centre, they'll be bored and annoy me." Jupiter, who overheard, giggled while Mars just grinned at her blunette friend.

As they were walking home, Usagi suddenly stopped and stared at the empty space in front of her. The girls behind her were abruptly stopped when they crashed into the back of her still figure.

"Usa?" Minako tentatively asked looking to where her friend was staring at with so much poignancy. Little did she know her best friend was thousands of miles away.

_She loved the feel of the gentle wind caressing her exposed shoulders. She looked at the blank space before her and smiled. An ethereal figure standing next to her was looking at the Moon Princess lovingly. _

"_My dearest daughter, everything you see before you now belongs to you." Usagi smiled at the Moon Queen's spirit._

"_It looks different." Her mother smiled._

"_The more you visit, the more you'll notice things changing." _

"_In what way?" The Queen beckoned her daughter to take a stroll toward the Moon Palace._

"_Right now, on Earth, there are a number of people waiting to go back to their homes."_

"_Their homes?" The Queen nodded while the princess looked even more confused._

"_Their true homes on their respective planets. The more you and the Senshi visit your planets, the stronger the people on Earth will feel their true calling." As she was talking, the crystal around her neck glowed. The Queen nodded her head toward it. "The crystal feels like it's home."_

"_But…Earth…me….?" She sounded more like Usagi than the future Neo-Queen Serenity. As incoherent as she was currently sounding, her mother understood everything._

"_Nothing will happen unless you are ready for it. Not just you, but your friends too. You are all connected by the same string; your fates are all dependent on each other." Their walk ended as they reached the Palace._

_During her first visit with her friends, the Palace was in complete ruins. This visit had the rubble cleared away, four turrets on either side with the insignia of the Moon Kingdom fluttering in the gentle wind. The palace was made of a substance that was definitely not found on earth; it was as if the palace was made from glass that radiated light creating a halo of warmth around it. It was breath taking. _

"_The palace has changed."_

"_That is true. The more you visit, the more the crystal will add to it until it's your palace."_

"_My palace?" The Queen laughed._

"_The palace looked different when your father and I lived here many millennia ago."_

_They talked for a while more before Usagi heard her friends calling for her from Earth._

"_My fairest child, this is the last time you will see me." Usagi turned sharply to face her mother whose sunny disposition had disappeared and was now sporting a sombre look._

"_I look at you and see a beautiful woman who I was unable to raise because of terrible circumstances. But I am so happy to have spent even this very little time with you. But I was only meant to guide you through the preliminary stages. Give you the confidence you need to continue the work you have been doing. _

_Your courage comes from your heart. You may not have Venus' General skills, or Mars' vivacity in battle; you may not have Jupiter's strength and Mercury's intel power, but you have heart and leadership skills. Your strength is your kindness." Usagi looked confused. "The Queen wasn't meant to lead in battle, this is why you have the Senshi. The fact that you have been in fights gives you an advantage over past leaders of the Moon. Your people will look up to you and respect you for that."_

"_Why can you not stay like this for ever? Lead the new people of the Moon. Your reign was cut short, and you deserve this." The Queen shook her head._

"_It is time for the Moon to have a new Queen. And that is you."_

"_But…"_

"_My darling child," The Queen caressed her daughter's cheek. "Do not argue about this. You will be the new Queen and you will be phenomenal." Usagi hugged her mother. _

_The next time Usagi visited the Moon she had her friends with her but strongly felt the absence of her mother. The Palace had changed too; it was bigger, and a moat was added around it. _

In the present, Usagi was staring at the Moon thinking of her mother's words. She was never meant to be an integral pawn in any battle schemes and she hated that. She wanted to be strong and not just have the power of heart. She trained every day with the senshi and learned about the history of the moon from Luna. She had changed.

Without her knowing, this change had built a wall around her heart incurring ramifications she had yet to see. She wasn't born for battle, but rather for leading her people.

* * *

A/N

HEY GUYS! Thanks for bearing with me for so long! I finished a MASTERS this year…well, I don't know if I passed it, but I sure did finish it! Now I am unemployed so I will probably be updating more often. Also, I apologise if this chapter isn't as good. Tends to happen when you keep putting off writing new material for so long :/ please don't hate me

:D


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Minako! That was my point and you stole it!"

"Not my fault you still don't know how to play the game!"

"Minako! Stop winning!" The heated argument over a frenzy of button pushing and screen thumping (courtesy of the shorter blonde) had drawn the attention of almost everyone in the game arcade.

"Some things never change." Meanwhile, in a booth nearby two girls were sipping tea and talking to an old friend.

"Andrew, you've known them since forever, when did you think they would change?"

"I just thought that University would somehow…."

"Somehow what? Make them more mature?" The taller girl snorted most unlady-like into her tea.

"How are they getting along at university? I miss them coming here every day." Andrew mused as both girls looked at each other sheepishly. Although the Crown Arcade was a staple environment in their daily lives, both for leisure and their senshi duties, they hadn't visited the place as much since starting university.

"Usagi has actually come a long way. Ever since… ever since our trip, she's changed a lot. The Moon is almost ready to accommodate its people again when she is ready." Andrew nodded. He was the only one who knew about the girls' whereabouts during their gap year.

"What about you two? Tell me about your university life."

"Well, I got a second interview at this really nice café called Old Movies. The chef really liked my dishes and wants me to do a trial run before considering hiring me." Andrew grinned.

"I think you should make your delicious pea soup, your divine Sunday roast garnished with those delicate potato flowers you make and your decadent molten lava cake as a desert and they will definitely hire you!" Andrew smacked his lips as he finished listing Makoto's signature dishes.

"I think she should make that lentil soup she makes so well – it shows she can tackle difficult dishes." Andrew scrunched his nose.

"No… lentil soup isn't liked by many people. In fact, out of everyone I know, only you and Mamoru like that soup." He shuddered. "God knows why." Makoto grinned.

"I like the Sunday roast idea and the lava cake, it is a family place after all. But instead of pea soup, I want to make my pumpkin squash soup." She looked dreamily into the distance as she was already buying the fresh ingredients at the bio-market in her head. Both her companions grimaced at the thought of pumpkin-squash soup.

"The only thing we agree on." Rei muttered to Andrew.

"Yes…yes… I think that'll do quite nicely." The tall girl snapped herself out of her reverie and turned to face her friends.

"So, Rei, what about you? Any jobs lined up?" Rei sighed, while Makoto grinned.

"Our Fire Princess here is in charge of this new collection arriving next week AND they want her to lead the dinner-slash-reception that accompanies it." Andrew laughed.

"So, why does she not look happy?" Rei snorted.

"SHE doesn't look happy because SHE has to work with idiots."

"We have to hear her every day talking about these two interns who do more damage than good." Rei turned to Andrew with despair in her eyes.

"I told them to fix the Pharao exhibition…all they had to do was make sure King-Tut was still in his glass case and that the mummy tombs were slightly open, showing part of the mummy, but not too much." She had to compose herself because the incident was making her fume. "Anyway… I come back, A WHOLE HOUR LATER, to see what they had done and they moved the antique gun collection into the room!" By this point, Andrew was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.

"Let me guess…" He said between chuckles, "they wanted to showcase the 'indianna jones style' recovery of the artefacts." This made Makoto roar with laughter while his other friend just stared blankly at him.

"How did you guess?" Andrew grinned.

"Oh come on Rei…" Rei continued to stare at him blankly.

"That's what Usa and Mina said before Rei gave them a lecture in how King-Tut's tomb was actually recovered." Andrew laughed, imagining the girls sobering immediately from their joke as Rei launched into lecturer mode.

"Wasn't that where everyone died because of the curse?" Rei tutted.

"It wasn't a curse guys! It was because of the spores and…you know what… I am not going to give the lecture again. If you want to be juvenile enough to believe in curses…" Andrew looked at her pointedly before interrupting.

"What…believing in curses is incredulous to you, but believing in the inter-galactic princesses and potential life on other planets is completely normal." Rei hung her head in shame. Andrew had a point. When he had finally found out the girls' secret, it had taken him a few days to wrap his head around the fact that his closest friends were, in fact, the famous guardians protecting Tokyo, but also future princesses of the planets! What the girls had liked about him was that he had taken the news surprisingly well; his questions weren't stupid (e.g. Usagi found her mother's question about whether her uniform was as itchy as it felt, quite stupid), he was always there for them (e.g. after every fight he would have a small feast prepared for them at the Arcade and he was always on hand with healthy snacks during their senshi meetings) and, most of all, he still accepted them for who they were. Being able to confide in Andrew about the toll their senshi duties took on them was comforting and he was always there to lend a helping ear. But, despite their fame and status, he still told Rei off for being too picky with guys, Ami for not always concentrating on the conversation, Makoto for always cooking with too much soy sauce (for some reason, that annoyed him a lot) and was constantly telling Usagi and Minako off for being too loud in the arcade. Nothing had changed in the dynamic of their individual and collective friendship, except for the fact that he knew their secret.

"Well, Makoto here has a boyfriend!" Rei stuck her tongue out at her best friend. "Hah, now you field the questions. I am going to go help Usa out because she looks like she's failing miserably and I don't want to go home to them two squabbling again." Makoto narrowed her eyes at her best friend before turning to an eager Andrew and launched into the story of how she and Nephrite got together.

* * *

"HOME" It was eight in the morning when the girls got home. All girls went to the couch and plonked down in exhaustion – Mercury seemed to be more tired than her friends.

"After all that analysis, after all that searching and searching and…" Rei turned to look at her tall friend sharply.

"Mako…" She growled.

"…and searching… we found out that the youma is actually made of a metal not from Earth or any of the planets we know of."

"Negaverse?" Usagi asked, knowing the answer already.

"We beat their asses into the next millennium. I think we're dealing with something else entirely." The girls were too tired to look worried. Usagi was about to speak, but a knock was heard at the door. The girls looked at each other curiously before turning to face their tallest friend.

"What?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's probably your boyfriend wondering where you went last night."

"Nephrite's not like that. He knows to give me space." Nonetheless, she still got up, while the rest of the girls half turned to peer over the top of the couch, and opened the door expecting to find her boyfriend.

"Mamoru?" Usagi immediately ducked instinctively. Rei just raised an eyebrow at her. Without waiting for an invitation, Mamoru came charging into the room.

"Where the hell where you?! I was up all night wandering the streets of Tokyo as Tuxedo Kamen and I couldn't even find you. Do you know how worried I've been? You could have called, or texted! What time do you call this? You girls are the most ire…" Before he could finish his rant, Usagi stood up and silenced him with her glare.

"Watch what you're going to say." Her voice was dangerously low.

"…sponsible." He trickled off. Usagi's eyes narrowed into mere slits.

"Excuse me? Tuxedo Kamen should have been there from the beginning if you were so worried about us which, by the way, I think is a cop out because if you were truly worried you would defied my order like you've done countless times before. Secondly, we are more than capable of handling youmas on our own – quite frankly you'd get in the way. We have become stronger and created a dynamic amongst ourselves that cannot be ruined by you, or anyone else in fact. Thirdly, you have NO RIGHT to come barge in here and accuse us of not keeping you updated – you are not one of us anymore." Usagi tried to ignore Mamoru's stunned expression which, as she spoke, changed into embarrassment and helplessness. He looked as if he didn't want to be there, but stood rooted in the same spot, taking her abuse. The girls behind her looked shocked as the man, once so statuesque and assertive, seemed to shrink under the blonde girl's glare. Without saying anything, he gave the love of his life one last forlorn look and walked out the door.

No one noticed Usagi shaking slightly, and it wasn't from anger. She shut the door, as composedly as she could, and turned to see her four friends staring at her open mouthed.

"Usa…" Minako began, but Usagi held a hand up to silence her. She ran out of the living room as fast as she could and into her room, the door slamming behind her. She collapsed on her bed, crying like she did when she was a teenager.

"Usagi?" A comforting female voice, accompanied by the soft pitter patter of paws made its way toward her.

"Why does he affect me so Luna?" Her voice came out muffled as it was still fused to her pillow.

"There, there darling girl." Usagi felt a soft paw on her back and was glad to note that it still brought her comfort, even after all these years. A few minutes later, she turned over to face her faithful companion; her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks stained with tears and the pillow case stencil had left a mark on her forehead.

"I don't know what came over me. I just… I lost it! He still treats me like a little girl, even though…" She trailed off. Luna sighed.

"You're still a little girl to him." Usagi looked at Luna horrified for obvious reasons, but her cat just smiled. "I don't mean in that way. He still remembers you as that blubbering 15-year-old who couldn't face a youma without breaking out into tears and panicking for no reason." Usagi stopped her crying, but continued catching her breath in her throat as she attempted to swallow her hurt. "What you have to understand is that…is that…someone like Mamoru is so nice and kind to everyone but he found that trait being a most valuable asset in your relationship because someone had to care for you. Perhaps, and this doesn't make him a bad person, he wanted someone like your fifteen year old self because he needed to take care of someone…be there for someone…have someone dependent on him. Don't forget, he was raised an orphan and wanting to be a part of something more is common with children who have succeeded in every aspect of their life but emotional entanglements. Your friends were already mature when they took on their senshi duties – you had potential to become that but you needed guidance and someone to take care of you." Usagi got up slowly from her bed and went to her mirror. Luna stopped talking as Usagi took in everything she had said. It was true, Mamoru had never spoken of his past except for one night when he had been hit by a dart laced with a poison giving the receiver a similar effect to that of being drunk.

_Sailor Moon struggled to carry Tuxedo Kamen back to his apartment, and after the exhausting fight with the dart throwing youma, all the blonde haired senshi wanted to do was take a bubble bath and sleep until the end of the week. Her friends had offered to help but she saw the nasty cuts on their bodies and all the bruises so advised them to go home and she would take of her boyfriend by herself. She had been wounded too, but not too severely given Tuxedo Kamen's protective stance._

_"Usako?" Tuxedo Kamen slurred. Sailor Moon looked around in a panic hoping that no one was around to hear his ramblings. When she saw that the coast was clear, she turned back to the slouched tall man currently leaning on her lithe frame and struggling to walk, and hissed at him._

_"Shut up idiot! You don't know who can hear us!" Tuxedo Kamen just giggled, most unlike him, and placed a sloppy kiss on Sailor Moon's cheek. Horrified, the Moon senshi struggled to keep him upright as they walked down the, thankfully, deserted streets of Tokyo. The silence was broken but Tuxedo Kamen's incessant, and offkey, humming of one of his favourite songs._

_When she finally got him to his apartment, after an embarrassing search for his key, she used the crystal to detransform from their aliases. Mamoru was being particularly difficult, not wanting to leave the couch._

_"Come on Mamo-chan, I have to take you to your bed." Uasgi whined._

_"Noooo, I want to stay here and we can talk all evening!" He sounded so child-like, so unlike himself, that Usagi stopped dead in her tracks on her way to the kitchen._

_"Mamo-chan, are you ok?" The boy, although still under the influence of the poison, had fixed his gaze on the open window which Usagi had opened hoping that the fresh air would sober him sooner. The girl left the glasses she was taking to the kitchen on a random shelf on the bookcase before walking back to the boy. She sat next to him put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Mamo-chan?" She prompted, hoping to get an answer to her question. He looked away from the window and the look in his eyes made Usagi's heart melt; he had something in his eyes that she had never seen before…fear. _

_"Did I ever tell you what my biggest fear was?" Usagi couldn't speak because she knew that her voice would betray her emotions. "Before I met you, my biggest fear was getting close to someone. After…" His voice choked a bit before he continued telling a story he had never told before to a patient Usagi who remained silent until the very end. "After the accident, all I remember was being in a dark room, alone. I remember calling out for my mother, but no one came. I didn't even realise that I was in an accident – I didn't know what that meant. I was six years old and all I knew was that I was in so much pain and all I wanted was my mother to come and comfort me. My dad would wait outside the room anxiously, as he did the few times that I was really ill, and wait for my mum to update him on my condition. My mother would comfort me, and tell me a story she had made up when I was really young about the Earth Prince who fell in love with the Moon Princess, but they couldn't be together because it was forbidden. It was my favourite story and the older I got the longer the story got as she added more to the plot. _

_But Usako…she never came. I was left alone in that room until morning when a nurse came in with a child psychologist to tell me what had happened. I didn't believe them. I knew that my mother and father would be waiting for me on the other side of the door, smiling, and they would take me home and we would read books in English that my father would bring from his trips to the USA. When I left the room, two strangers, foster parents, were waiting for me…not my parents. They told me their names, and that they had no children of their own so I would have a lot of space to play at their house. A year later, the woman gave birth and I had to be put back into the system because they wanted to focus on their new, expanding, family…I wasn't a part of it…I was too different because I would attempt to read my books, those that I was allowed to take 'home' while the rest of my life was boxed up and saved in a storage room until I became of age. I would familiarise myself with the words and remember my mother and father reading me the stories, and that's how I learned English. It was that fa…those people who took me to my first day of school. I remember being happy for the first time since my parents' death when they picked me up from my first day at school and listened to my excitement before telling me their news. I was so excited that I would be part of a bigger family… _

_I went through three more foster homes before I was allowed to access the money my parents had left me when I turned 15. Every foster home commented on the fact that I was different to every other child they had ever taken in. I was considered abnormal. In the second foster home, I experienced my first crush on a girl. I saw her in the playground and asked my foster father how to talk to her. He laughed and gave me a ginger beer while he drank a normal one and gave me the best piece of advice when talking to a girl – always be the reason for the smile on her face and never be the reason for the tears in her eyes. In my third foster home, I got my first A and my first, and last, F. I remember being so happy for the A and crying for the F but my foster mother was amazing. She told me that whatever I did in life, grades would never make me a better person and that true knowledge was not learned at school. My fourth foster home gave me the biggest life lesson I ever learned – no matter how hard you try to fit in despite how different you are, you never will. They never treated me bad, per se, but they never saw the appeal of books and academia. When I told them that I wanted to be a doctor, they laughed and told me that I should aim lower. I should follow in my foster father's footsteps and learn how to fix cars – that's where the money was. I left out of my own accord and it was decision I did not regret._

_Three years later, I met you. I had been alone for so long I forgot what it was like to have other people truly care for you. My fear stopped me from admitting to myself what I truly felt about you so I turned to childish tactics in order to push you away from me hoping to swallow my true feelings for you. But when I found out that you were Sailor Moon something…something changed. You were so beautiful, and so brave that you woke something inside of me that I though had died a long time ago. My fear has changed. Now, my biggest fear is losing you." Usagi couldn't speak, she couldn't even move. As he talked, their position on the couch had changed; he had draped on arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to him as she rested on his chest listening to glistening story of his childhood with her feet tucked underneath her. Neither was looking at one another, but rather were staring blankly at the open window as one described a story of woe and pain while the other pictured the trials and life-lessons a six year old was forced to learn. The silence that followed Mamoru's tale was broken in bits by the sporadic car speeding down the street, the hoot of the night owls hunting for mice and the rustling of the winds in the soft summer breeze. Usagi held Mamoru close to her telling him through silent actions that she would never leave him. He fell asleep for the first time since he was six years old with a weight he never knew he had lifted off of him. His story was finally told…he could move on._

* * *

Minako hated mornings, but she had to get up particularly early this morning for an audition in a city two hours away from Tokyo. As she filled a coffee mug and a travel mug, she weighed the importance of this audition. It was important to her and, since she was already up and had bought the tickets, it was only prudent that she actually went. She looked lovingly into the fridge at the cake Makoto had baked but mentally scolded herself for even thinking of having a slice. Their fight with that still-unidentified youma two nights ago was proof of her atrocious eating habits and lack of exercise. She made it to the door before going back to the fridge, cutting a generous piece of cake and promising to herself that she would finally sign up to the gym this afternoon. She left the house happily munching on the decadent chocolate cake which distracted her from noticing a tall white haired man waiting for the elevator. Minako was too busy taking another bite out of her cake that, not only did she not see the man, but she also bumped into him. What she had meant to say was "I am so sorry" but due to the unchewed mouthful of goodness she had currently in her mouth, it came out in the language only her friends could understand after years of friendship. She was embarrassed and was blushing so much that it took her a while to look up and see the face of the person she had just bumped into. When she noticed who it was, however, she cursed; bits of cake flew out of her mouth and it sounded unintelligible, but the message came across clearly from the expression on her face – she wasn't happy to see him.

"Minako right?" The girl nodded chewing on her piece of cake slowly since it was her excuse not to talk to him. "I accept your apology." Minako was stunned. No one ever understood her and Usagi's conversations with their mouths full. His expression was so hard to read, was that a hint of amusement, disdain, disgust? Minako was so irked that she just narrowed her eyes at him, still chewing, and turned toward the staircase. Kunzite looked after her, confused as to what he could have done. The elevator doors dinged open but he didn't step in, and instead, followed the blonde beauty to the staircase. _This is the beginning of every horror film – older man follows younger, beautiful girl into the staircase _he thought as he descended the steps quickly in order to catch up with her.

"Minako." He was never one for nicknames. Just her name spoken in his voice, a mix of authoritarian and commanding with a hint of sleep, given that it was morning, made her stop as she stepped off the last step. She didn't turn, but rather waited for him to catch up. "Where are you off to?"

"Audition." The less she spoke, the better. Although she didn't know why she felt this way around him.

"Audition? You're still pursuing acting?" Minako couldn't answer immediately because she was so shocked by his comment.

"Yes, I am going to an audition because, yes, I am still pursuing acting."

"But why?" Minako wanted to ask the same question but in relation to why he was waiting with her at the bus stop.

"Because acting has always been my first passion."

"But, you're so smart." She snorted at that.

"Thanks." His expression was still confused.

"Why would you consider pursuing a failed endeavour when your talents obviously lie elsewhere." Minako was so grateful for the bus that had just come giving her an excuse to not punch him in the face like she wanted to. Without saying anything, she got on the bus and took one last look at Kunzite, who had a look she couldn't make out, before the driver closed the doors and took off. The man she had left behind started walking towards the university. He took out his phone and dialled his brother who just swore at him before hanging up. He tusked in annoyance before ringing his best friend.

"Nephrite just hung up on me before cussing at me for waking him up so early. Dude, I need your help – I think I did something wrong, but I don't know what."

* * *

Zoicite was pacing around his room trying to decide how he wanted his farewell with Ami to be. He knew he wanted to tell her how he felt before he left. Since the party, the two were inseparable at the library. She was such a big help, collating data for his proposal to Dr. Takahashi, providing sound advice for her presentation, giving helpful tips on how to maximise his learning experience with the doctor, and, most importantly, being a pillar of moral support while he stressed out over everything. He still remembered what his brothers and Mamoru had told him at dinner – that if he did choose to be with Ami, it couldn't be like any of his other relationships. But he actually felt a very strong attraction to the blunette – it wasn't just the physical aspect of the attraction that inspired him to confess his feelings, but rather the fact that he knew that if he went a day without talking to her, he wouldn't be complete until he heard her voice. He was turning into his older brother who was completely smitten with his current girlfriend, Jadeite thought they were both crazy for thinking that they were in love when they had only known the girls for a couple of months.

He went to the window and looked outside hoping that the rising sun would give him a hint as to what he could do. The Tokyo morning traffic was just beginning and the gentle hum of stopped cars calmed him down. Being in a big city was always much more comforting than being in a small village which is why he was even more stressed about going to his work experience with Dr. Takahashi. The beginning notes of Puccinin's 'Madame Butterfly' floating through the air pulled him out of his trance. He strained his ear to hear where the music was coming from. Somewhere on the left he heard a girl gently humming along with the melody. He smiled – even her humming mesmerised him. He leaned outside his window sill, grinning, as Ami's humming took him to a magical place Puccini couldn't even take him. He had his answer when the humming stopped abruptly ten minutes later and the click of a CD player ended the music. He frantically put on jeans, despite not having taken off his pyjamas, and pulled a discarded t-shirt over his naked torso. He took one look in the mirror and sighed – his dishevelled hair coupled with the crumpled t-shirt wasn't exactly how he was planning on being dressed when he confessed his feelings to Ami, but it would have to do.

Ami was currently eating breakfast while reading one of Rei's discarded books on the kitchen counter. This one was about a strong, independent girl who refused to admit her feelings for someone that she was completely in love with. Meanwhile, the guy she loved was with someone else. She was at the point where the girl was contemplating dating someone else, but she met the guy she loved by happenstance at a park while she was walking her dog and then remembered all the reasons for loving him. Ami scoffed as she spooned the last mouthful of cereal, snapping the book shut as she ate. As she cleaned her plate, she thought of the terrible situation the heroine of the book she was just reading was in; _imagine loving someone so much, but they don't love you._ For some reason, a certain blonde boy came to mind but she shook the image out of her head – she didn't want to end up in the heroine's same situation. But because, as it happens when people are in love, his smile came to mind and she could help but smile as she thought of the past two days they had spent joined at the hip. She hoped he would see him at the library again and the same time hoping she wouldn't. She just didn't want to set herself up for failure.

As she left the house the door opposite opened almost simultaneously. A dishevelled Zoicite flashed her a grin, the same one that had made her smile just a few moments ago. While it made her smile, his appearance called for her concern.

"Good morning Zoicite. Are you ok?" The boy laughed as she gave him a concerned look.

"I packed all my clean clothes. Can I walk you to the library?" She laughed as he held out his elbow and walked to the elevator _embrassee _with him. The whole way to the library, he told her tales of his childhood which made her laugh more than she had since coming to university. _Yes_ Zoicite thought, _she is definitely the one for me. I can't imagine a day without hearing her laugh_.

* * *

A/N:

Righteo! Thanks so much for reviewing! I haven't been doing this lately, but here goes:

Sailorblondie11 - :)) hopefully this is to your liking ;p

Guest - the one who asked when Rei will get a bf. Oooo she has a very complicated plot line ;p wait and seee

**Reidite88** \- updated!

**chibios** \- THANKS! I made more and am in the process of making more! Enjoy!;p

James Birdsong - erm... care to elaborate? Tell me what you (don't?) like?

**slightlyxjaded** \- all the girls are insecure! Not that I am stereotyping girls, but we tend to have so many insecurities and I want to show that these girls are that, not just guardians of the galaxy and those insecurities play a role. This is just the begining og angst - I LIVE for angst! Thanks :))

**cheekylilwhit** \- is this enough interaction? They will be interacting a lot more now.

guest - kunzite/minako is heavy in this chapter. Hope you liked it :p

SMSM92 - thanks :)

The bolded authors are those who continue to faithfully review my chapters and are sticking by with this story despite it coming along very slowly. You guys make my day and are the reason I LOVE writing.

To everyone else - I am so glad you leave me feedback - nothing feeds an author's ego like reading a review (whether it's good or bad [constructive criticism bad, not mean bad]). If you do like my story, please leave me a review and tell me what you think.

QUESTIONS:

Ok so I have a couple of questions for you guys.

1) Rei/Jadeite - they had no interaction in this chapter, but I plan on using them a LOT in the next one. What do you think is gonna happen?

2) Mamoru/Usagi - we learned a lot about Mamoru and I feel so bad after I wrote it. I think I am making Usagi mean for leaving him even after he told her his biggest fear but... but... it's the plot. Am I too mean? :(

3) Kunzite - ok, I love him. But he is a little socially awkward. What do you guys think?

4) Zoicite? Too over the top?

;ppp Cheers!

**AuroraFireMadness**


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